Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Interaction, migration and change
Property, power, and emotions 241 you would have won [the war], you would have owned the whole of Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately you lost... and now the buildings are mine!” He clearly disagreed with the Sudeten German claim for Heimatrecht, and by accusing them of supporting the Third Reich, he justified his ownership of their confiscated properties. He noted, however, that he did understand their feelings of nostalgia, and did not mind their annual commemorative services in front of his doorstep. Evidently, his "liberal” attitude was in line with his own interests. He wanted to avoid unnecessary tensions, and, after all, the Sudeten Germans were just engaged in symbolic appropriation. They did not intend to buy property in the village, and therefore, he did not see them as economic competitors. Emotional dynamics: anger and resentment As noted before, property relations are dynamic relations between different social actors. As the shoot began to function and Hulshoff started to buy more houses and claim more land, many villagers began to feel uneasy. Hulshoffs presence started having an impact on day-to-day life in the village. On the one hand, those who worked for him (as builders, cleaners, housekeepers, assistants to the new British gamekeeper, and beaters) or who sold property to him, benefited financially from his presence. On the other hand, many, in particular those who did not benefit, saw him as a crude profiteer. Petr Hedrlin who had lived in Vesnice since the nineteenseventies, argued that Hulhoff’s presence had led to increasing economic inequality and the return of the old estate system. He said: "As happened after the thirty-year war under the domination of the Habsburg aristocrats the Czech lands will soon be controlled by rich foreigners, and once again we’ll have a panstvf History is repeating itself.” It is telling that he used the term panstvf, which links the concepts of “estate”, “serfdom”, “domination”, “power”, and "nobility”. The image of an estate visited by members of
