Vda jde k lidu! Olkov Doubravka (2014)

This Czech-language book examines how the popularization of science became one of the fundamental pillars of the communist regime. It begins with the observation that Karel Zemans now-cult film Cesta do pravku was part of the communist partys privileged campaign to educate the population in atheism: the journey of four boys back through time traced the stages of the Earths formation and the origins of life, ending not with God but with Darwin. The book asks whether the roots of Czech atheism lie in this successful campaign of mass atheist education, whether contemporary faith in safe nuclear energy draws on the same sources of collective consciousness, and what lies behind the desire to reshape nature. It explains how the position of scientists and intellectuals changed after 1948, maps the totalitarian mechanisms used to popularize science, and reveals the indoctrinating potential that the communist authorities exploited to the full.