Czech Immigrants and the Sokol Movement

“Czech Immigrants and the Sokol Movement” is about the people of the Czech lands who settled in the USA, bringing their ideals and culture, and contributing in many ways to American life. They left their homeland because they were denied independence under Austrian rule during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their culture included the Sokol movement, a philosophy of fitness through gymnastics (a sound mind in a sound body), which stressed discipline, morality, brotherhood, and equality. The movement was so strong that it helped spark the Czech Legions, an army consisting of men who left the Austrian army in order to fight on the side of the allies during World War I. Their legacy was a major factor that rallied support for the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918. This is the story of a determined people who sacrificed, endured, and contributed to the American way of life, especially by their love of country and freedom. The book documents the role of Sokol clubs in facilitating the Czech culture in America by contributing to fitness through gymnastics, as well as the arts.