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Pitol, Sergio

(Encyclopedia)Pitol, Sergio (Sergio Pitol Deméneghi), 1933–2018, Mexican author, essayist, and translator, b. Puebla. He studied law and literature at the National Autonomous Univ. of Mexico (1950–55), then jo...

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration

(Encyclopedia)United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), organization founded (1943) during World War II to give aid to areas liberated from the Axis powers. There were finally 52 participatin...

Temple, Shirley

(Encyclopedia)Temple, Shirley, 1928–2014, American child film star, b. Santa Monica, Calif., as Shirley Jane Temple. She started in movies at three-and-a-half and starred in her first feature (Stand Up and Cheer!...

Klíma, Ivan

(Encyclopedia)Klíma, Ivan Ä“vänˈ klÄ“mˈə [key], 1931–, Czech author, b. Prague as Ivan Kauders, grad. Charles Univ., Prague (1956). Of Jewish descent, Klíma spent 1941–45 in the Theresienstadt (now TerezÃ...

passive resistance

(Encyclopedia)passive resistance a method of nonviolent protest against laws or policies in order to force a change or secure concessions; it is also known as nonviolent resistance and is the main tactic of civil d...

Čáslavská, Věra

(Encyclopedia)Čáslavská, Věra, 1942–2016, Czechoslovak gymnast, b. Prague. Čáslavská revolutionized a formerly dance-based sport with her athleticism and panache, winning 22 international titles (seven Oly...

minority

(Encyclopedia)minority, in international law, population group with a characteristic culture and sense of identity occupying a subordinate political status. Religious minorities were known from ancient times, but e...

Masaryk, Thomas Garrigue

(Encyclopedia)Masaryk, Thomas Garrigue gərēgˈ [key], 1850–1937, Czechoslovak political leader and philosopher, first president and chief founder of Czechoslovakia. He is revered by most Czechs and was internat...

Slovakia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Slovakia slôˈvĕnskô [key], republic (2015 est. pop. 5,439,000), 18,917 sq mi (48,995 sq km), central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic in the west, by Austria in the southwest, b...

Maxwell, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Maxwell, Robert (Ian Robert Maxwell), 1923–91, British business executive, b. Czechoslovakia as Jan Ludwik Hoch. He grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community. After fleeing the Nazis in 1939, Maxwell...