BataStory.net

1920-1925

Final rupture of the Czech social democracy. The leftists occupy Lidový dům (The Folk House), they throw out the editors of “Právo lidu” (People’s Rights) and start their own newspaper, eventually named The Red Right (Rudé právo). – On Christmas Eve, the famous Czech globetrotter and writer Jiri Hanzelka was born.

Tomáš Baťa runs already for fifty of his own stores in the new indenpendent Czech Republic when he is invited to the conference of the major Czechoslovak entrepreneurs in New York. Going to America for the third time he has a good reason as well: he wants to buy a medium Lynn shoe factory in Massachusetts and to found there his new local manufacturing company Bata Shoe Corporation, lead by his half-brother Jan.

The very first part of Jaroslav Hasek’s novel The Good Soldier Schweik appears in Prague bookshops and Adolf Hitler became chairman of German Nazi party NSDAP. Belgium was divided into the provinces by language spoken by their citizens – Flemish and French. And Soviet Russia as the first country in the world legalizes the act of abortion.

Experiment with the new factory in Massachusetts – despite all efforts of Jan – encounters so many difficulties that it ultimately fails. Jan therefore even leaves the company for some time and departs for London. There he meets the girl of his life – Maja Gerbec, the daughter of Bata’s family doctor working there for Bata, he gets married and finally returns to Zlin anyway.

Enrico Caruso (* 1873). famous Italian tenor died and Jaroslav Drobny, forthcoming excelent Czech tennis player and Wimbledon winner in 1954, was born. Italian Fascist Benito Mussolini’s was recognized as the leader of his movement.

There is really what to do in Zlin. Almost a million men returns from fronts of WWI to the country, the unemployment increases, as well as business strikes and general demoralization. General call for a strike is thankfully ignored by Bata workers, but there is also a growing violence among the people and a threat of the Left. Tomáš Baťa sees that he will have to engage in politics as well.

Egypt declared independence from Britain, but UK does not want to loose any rights in the Suez Canal. In New York the first night of Charlie Chaplin’s movie “The Gold-rush” takes place and Josif Vissarinovič Stalin became to the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia on Lenin’s advice

Inflation has reduced purchasing power of exports to almost half level, while increasing bank debt vice versa. Tomáš Baťa decides to risk and to the amazement of experts, reduces the price of shoes on 50 percent. Full stores are sold out. The participants of the Conference of the Czechoslovak Manufactuirers’ Association could not do more more than an eternal appeals to the Government and the Minister of Finance. Bata, who risked so much, – wins.

Benito Mussolini began his “March to Rome”. As a result Italian government resigns and fascists occupy Rome. Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics. Czech Jaroslav Heyrovský published his discovery of polarography and in Egypt archeologists discovered tomb of Tutanchamón .

Thomas and Marie Bata celebrate 10th anniversary of their marriage. Tom’as is forty-six, Mary – thirty and small Tomík – eight years. There is still less and less time for the family, and what’s more – approaching is the moment when Thomas becomes the Mayor of the town of Zlin.

Author of the “Brave Soldier Schweik”, Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek (*1883) passed away so as the famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844). In Prague, regular broadcastsing of the Czechoslovak Radio started. In Germany, due to enormous inflation, they print out two million print new banknotes every day. In Kopřivnice Moravian car manufacturer starts to produce popular car with air-cooled engine Tatra 11 and George Gershwin conducted in New York City the premiere of his Rhapsody in Blue.

An important role starts to be performed in Zlín by Tomas niece’s husband Dominik Čipera – an incredible financial and administrative analyst. He manages to shape Tomas brilliant ideas into quite precise directives and plans. Only now his system allowwing employees’ financial participation (not only on the loss but also on the gain of the workshop) is being born. The Tomas Bata slogan – “I was looking for a way that would enable to work automatically as sunset and sundown – seems to be carried out.

Czech writer Josef Škvorecký was born and the first night of the opera “The Cunning Little Vixen” by Leos Janacek took place in Brno. The very first print of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” appears in Germany and the newly elected parliament of Persia (now Iran) appointed as a new ruler Reza Shah from the dynasty Pahlavi. Nobel prize for literature was granted to the Irish novelist and playwright George Bernard Shaw, famous mainly gor his play Pygmalion.