In cooperation with the Czech Radio Archive, we offer an overview of recordings featuring the voice of President T. G. Masaryk and a unique opportunity to listen to them.

As a new medium, radio gradually gained popularity from the 1920s onwards. Regular radio broadcasting in Czechoslovakia began on May 18, 1923, from the Prague-Kbely military airfield area by the private company Radiojournal. Two years later, the Czechoslovak state acquired a majority share (51%) in Radiojournal. From then on, broadcasting operated on a platform of ideological, political, economic, and cultural interests of the Czechoslovak Republic.

President Masaryk was well aware of the significance of radio. He was, after all, one of the first Czechoslovak politicians to engage with this medium personally. Already in 1922, he tried listening through headphones to a three-tube radio receiver at Prague Castle. His interest in the new medium was also evident during his official visit to France in 1923. On October 17, accompanied by French President Alexandre Millerand, Masaryk visited the central radio station at the Sainte-Assise chateau near Paris. After a tour of the facilities and equipment, a greeting radiogram was transmitted. A year later, the Military Telegraph Workshops made a luxury superheterodyne receiver for Masaryk, which featured an eight-tube radio and an electric gramophone in a mahogany cabinet. This rare device served as his personal radio receiver in the following years. According to Masaryk’s secretary Antonín Schenk, several other radios were present at the Lány chateau in 1928. The President regularly followed weekly programs in the Radiojournal magazine and selected broadcasts that interested him. Music programs, political and news reports, and occasionally sports broadcasts were particularly popular in Lány.

1. However, Masaryk was not merely a passive consumer of radio broadcasts; he also became an active contributor. The sound collections of the Czech Radio Archive, which preserve the following speeches and addresses by Masaryk, are evidence of this:

1) 27 October 1928 – Masaryk’s Speech to Children

On the day before the 10th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic, schoolchildren gathered in the courtyard of Prague Castle to pay tribute to T. G. Masaryk. He responded to them with a brief speech broadcast live by Radiojournal. The company His Master’s Voice simultaneously recorded the speech, releasing it in 1931 on a gramophone record for the Czech market. This is the oldest surviving radio recording.

2) 28 October 1928 – Masaryk’s Speech on the 10th Anniversary of Czechoslovakia

Exactly ten years after the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic, representatives of the National Assembly and the government gathered in the audience hall of Prague Castle to hear a ceremonial speech by President T. G. Masaryk. In his address, he placed the founding of Czechoslovakia in the broader context of modern European and world history and reflected on the meaning, development, and tasks of democracy. Unfortunately, the opening seconds of this archival recording are not preserved in high audio quality.

3) 28 October 1931 – Masaryk’s Speech on the 13th Anniversary of Czechoslovakia

Thirteen years after the founding of the Republic, representatives of the National Assembly and the government again gathered in the audience hall of Prague Castle to hear President T. G. Masaryk. In his speech, he evaluated the state of democracy in Czechoslovakia, warned of the dangers of corruption, and, in light of the economic crisis, called for savings and frugality. He also outlined a vision of a more spiritual and morally driven future in politics and public life.

4) 22 February 1932 – Masaryk’s Speech to American Listeners

At the beginning of 1932, Masaryk was selected by Columbia Broadcasting System as a representative of European statesmen to address the American people on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. He delivered the speech from his office at Prague Castle. Masaryk emphasized Washington’s contribution to American history, updated his political ideas, and stressed the need for democratic cooperation between Europe and America. The speech was transmitted to the U.S. through a combination of wire (cable) and wireless (shortwave) transmission.

5) 18 March 1932 – Masaryk’s Speech to Schoolchildren

In March 1932, Masaryk spoke as part of a school broadcast intended for schoolchildren. The Czechoslovak president addressed the students in both Czech and Slovak, encouraging them to respect and pay attention to older generations. Only the opening four-minute segment of the speech survives in the archive.

6) 3 July 1932 – Masaryk’s Speech to the Sokol Parade

On the opening day of the 9th All-Sokol Rally, Masaryk addressed the Sokol parade on Old Town Square. Only the concluding words of the president’s speech survive in the recording, followed by the cheers of the crowd and the Czechoslovak national anthem. The sound quality is not very good, as background hum caused by the microphone cable running parallel to the tram line is audible (as noted in contemporary listening reports).

7) 4 July 1932 – Masaryk’s Speech to Sokol Representatives

On the second day of the 9th All-Sokol Rally, Masaryk addressed representatives of Sokol, rally organizers, and international guests in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle. The president updated the ideas of Miroslav Tyrš and Ján Kollár and emphasized the importance of the Sokol movement for future generations.

8) 17 November 1932 – Masaryk’s Speech on the 10th Anniversary of the BBC

On the occasion of the BBC’s 10th anniversary, Masaryk addressed British listeners. The Czechoslovak president reflected on his relationship with Great Britain, considered the purpose of the League of Nations and Czechoslovakia’s peace efforts, and stressed the importance of radio and the BBC for human education and mutual understanding between nations.

9) 22 November 1932 – Masaryk’s Speech to German Schoolchildren

In November 1932, Masaryk gave a school broadcast to German children. In his speech, the president emphasized the importance of peace and suggested how students themselves could contribute to its preservation and overcoming the economic crisis through diligent study and honest work.

10) 24 May 1934 – Masaryk’s Final Presidential Oath

Due to deteriorating eyesight, Masaryk memorized the presidential oath before the May 1935 elections. As is evident in the recording, he still required a small prompt during the ceremony.