Archives of Masaryk University  

Head:  PhDr. Jiří Pulec

In 1996 the archives of Masaryk University continued filing official documents delivered by faculties. In its activity it followed the conclusions of inspection performed by the Control Department of Masaryk University in conjunction with University archives in January 1996. The documents delivered are sorted and made accessible for official and research purposes. Computer processing of files of the Faculty of Teacher Training from its formation to the mid-1970s was completed. The files of the Faculty of Science are now being made accessible in the same way. Negotiations with the Archives of Komenský University in Bratislava about surrendering the files of the Faculty of Pharmaceutics MU which have been kept in Bratislava since the closing of the faculty are coming to a successful end.

An extensive personal collection of the historian Josef Macůrek and his library were purchased and divided into basic groups. By the method of so-called extensive inventories the collections of Bohuslav Bouček, pharmacologist, Zdeněk Neubauer, Professor of Constitutional Law, and Josef Podpěra, botanist, were made accessible.  

The last year saw an increased number of scholars in the archives and the frequency of study visits went up. Besides fundamental archival funds information services provided by the archives are based on thematic databases which are developed to help research and to carry out historical information searches. For historical research and popularisation of the University in press or through exhibitions archival collections are of enormous importance (historical, photographic, etc.). These collections are continuously extended by collecting materials and by collaboration with other institutions (archives). The archives did not organise an exhibition in 1996 but contributed with its valuable documents to the success of the exhibition, held in Prague, commemorating the 110th anniversary of the birth of Jan Masaryk, honorary doctor of Masaryk University.  

The archives concentrated on the history of the University after the year 1945 and on study of some, formerly tabooed topics concerning this period. In June 1996 a grant project of the Silesian Institute entitled "The mechanism of out-of-court persecution in Moravia and Silesia in 1947-1951" was successfully defended. The archives of MU took part in the project "The persecution of churches, church communities and in education", which was part of a great grant project. Research results are published in the journal Universitas to inform the general public.