View source for Svazarm

{{Expand Czech|Svazarm|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox organization
| type                = [[non-governmental organization]]
| name                = Svazarm (Union for Cooperation with the Army)
| native_name         = Svazarm (Svaz pro spolupráci s armádou)<br />Zväzarm (Zväz pre spoluprácu s armádou)
| native_name_lang    = cs
| logo                = Svazarm, Union for Cooperation with the Army, Czechoslovakia.png
| image               = 
| formation           = 1951
| dissolved           = 1990
}}
'''Svazarm''' or '''Union for Cooperation with the [[Army]]''' ([[Czech language|Czech]]: '''Svaz''' pro spolupráci s '''arm'''ádou / Svazarm, [[Slovak language|Slovak]]: '''Zväz''' pre spoluprácu s '''arm'''ádou / '''Zväzarm''') was, in [[History of Czechoslovakia|Communist Czechoslovakia]], the largest "[[paramilitary]]" organisation, although many of the activities that Svazarm provided for its members were more reminiscent of a [[Junák|Boy Scout]] movement than of a regimented paramilitary group.<ref name="Ars Technica">{{cite news|title=How Indiana Jones, Rambo, and others ended up in 1980s Czechoslovak text-adventures|first=Andrada|last=Fiscutean|work=[[Ars Technica]]|date=October 23, 2020|accessdate=Jan 20, 2022|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/10/how-indiana-jones-fought-the-communists-and-led-an-era-of-activist-video-games/}}</ref>

Established in 1951, the Svazarm was an almost exact copy of the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[DOSAAF]], however, with massively scaled down maritime activities as Czechoslovakia was [[landlocked]]. However, [[canoeing]] was still a popular activity. In 1985, it had about one million members, 60% of whom were under 35 years of age.

==Activities==
The activities the Svazarm provided were extremely diverse, ranging from [[medicine|medical]] training to [[dog]] training. Dog lovers would be instructed in the training and breeding of dogs suitable for military purposes, especially [[German Shepherd]]s. [[Shortwave radio]] operation was another popular activity, and was also useful for creating future [[radio]] operators in the army.

A more specialised branch of the Svazarm, based at [[Košice]], trained pilots for the air force. Training included at least twenty flight hours of [[Military glider|glider]] training and forty hours of basic training on motorised [[aeroplane]]s, as well as the necessary [[aviation]] [[theory]].

There were also sections: Model airplanes and gliding (formally DOSLET), motor sport section (motorcycles and cars) and all sorts of shooting sports.

Svazarm also operated its own hi-fi club and record label, Čs. Hifi-klub, which distributed its releases primarily to club members. The repertoire included Czechoslovak and Warsaw Pact as well as Western artists.

==Svazarm members in the armed forces==
The [[Czechoslovak Army|Czechoslovak military]] were usually less than impressed with the recruits that the Svazarm sent them, complaining that Svazarm members were "too soft" and lacked military knowledge. As military training for Svazarm members totalled 25 hours per year, and nearly all Svazarm instructors were insufficiently trained, this complaint was not unfounded.

Many Svazarm members thought that as any [[World War III]] would be fought with [[nuclear weapon]]s, conventional military training was a complete waste of time and thus took up an [[apathy|apathetic]] view of the entire Svazarm [[Organization|enterprise]].

It was also [[rumour]]ed that many Svazarm trainers were not too enthusiastic themselves and would tell their students how to avoid being [[conscription|conscripted]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*[http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3756.html Czechoslovakia - A Country Study]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Organizations based in Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Military of Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:1951 establishments in Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1951]]
[[Category:1990 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1990]]