Talk:Josef Korbel

Untitled

I think the last sentence may need a little explanation: he is accussed of stealing from his home? --Sam Francis 19:21, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Exactly. He's accused of taking items from his home before the Nazis could? This is a crime? Can we get a source for this? --Xinoph 22:44, Sep 18, 2004 (UTC)

I had removed sentence "Though he has left a legacy as a political teacher, Korbel has also invited controversy. He has been accused of stealing art treasures and furniture from his former home in Prague before leaving the country." and link Reprint: Matthew Campbell, Albright's Father 'Took War Loot To America', Sunday Times.

Such legal actions are dozen on a dime in Czech Republic. Various people feel an opportunity to quickly enrich themselves claiming to be victim at this or that time. Most of these cases are thrown away by courts. These people had heard about success of someone and just try whether they can grab something too (going to court is still cheap in Czech Republic). So I guess the link above and sentence I removed belong to the same category and are practically irrelevant for the article. Pavel Vozenilek 00:05, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Death sentence

Anyone know any more about this, what he was accused of, and even if it really happened? Reading this - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/stories/albright020997.htm - they say "There is no evidence that Korbel was put on trial in absentia, as has sometimes been reported in stories about Madeleine Albright's family background." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Marty funkhouser (talk • contribs) 09:05, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Syntax

Korbel was convicted of the Czech Communist coup in 1948, but escaped to the United States.

– This sentence does not read in English. What are we trying to say? That he was convicted of something by the Czech Communists, perhaps? Sca (talk) 20:27, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

Identifier

Today an IP user (2606:6000:FD0B:CA00:9B5:2EE7:91F3:F3B9) changed Korbel's identifier from "Czech" to "Jewish" – a change that was quickly reverted by Kautilya3.

"Jewish" does not generally denote a nationality; the nationality in modern terms would be "Israeli," but of course only if the person were from Israel. "Jewish" denotes an ethnic identity and a religion. (I note that in the case of Kafka we say he was Jewish, but only in the second paragraph describing his ethnic origins. I believe Kafka often is identified as a Czech writer in the German language.)

In Korbel's case, the change was not only an improper use of "Jewish," but also an oversimplification, since Korbel was born in what was then Geiersberg, a town just inside Austria-Hungary, south of what was then Glatz, Germany (now Kłodzko, Poland). His birthplace is now in the Czech Republic; it was renamed Letohrad only in 1950.

Considering these complex historical circumstances, I suggest Korbel be identified as a "Czech-American diplomat and political scientist of Jewish descent." Sca (talk) 21:05, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

I think his Jewishness enters the picture only insofar as he faced persecution. Neither his diplomacy nor his political science have anything to do with him being Jewish. Moreover he became Catholic while in London. So, Jewishness matters even less. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 22:22, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

Sorry, I was parsing your phrasing wrongly. Now that I reread it, I think it is fine. Thanks, Kautilya3 (talk) 22:58, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

Thanks. Appreciate your contribution. Sca (talk) 23:57, 15 May 2016 (UTC)