Editing Milan Kundera (section)

== Political activism and professional career ==
His expulsion from the Communist party was described by [[Jan Trefulka]] in his novella ''Pršelo jim štěstí'' (''Luck Rained on Them'', 1962).<ref name="gale" /> Kundera also used the expulsion as an inspiration for the main theme of his novel ''Žert'' (''[[The Joke (novel)|The Joke]]'', 1967),<ref name="gale" /> in which he ridiculed the ruling Communist party.<ref name="Kimball-1986" /> In 1956 Kundera was readmitted to the party but was expelled for a second time in 1970.<ref name="amoureux">{{in lang|fr}} Clavel, André, "[http://www.lexpress.fr/informations/l-intransigeant-amoureux-de-la-france_651114.html "L'intransigeant amoureux de la France"]" ''[[L'Express]]'', 3 April 2003</ref><ref name="home">{{in lang|en}} Kramer, Jane, "[https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/kundera-home.html When there is no word for 'home']{{-"}}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 29 April 1984</ref> He took part in the Fourth Congress of the Czech Writers union in June 1967, where he delivered an impressive speech.<ref name="Sabatos-2008">{{Cite journal |last=Sabatos |first=Charles |year=2008 |title=Criticism and Destiny: Kundera and Havel on the Legacy of 1968 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20451662 |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=60 |issue=10 |pages=1829–1830 |doi=10.1080/09668130802434711 |jstor=20451662 |s2cid=154092932 |issn=0966-8136}}</ref> In the speech he focused on the Czech effort to maintain a certain cultural independence among its larger European neighbours.<ref name="Sabatos-2008" /> Along with other reformist Communist writers such as [[Pavel Kohout]], he was peripherally involved in the 1968 [[Prague Spring]]. This brief period of reformist activities was crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Kundera remained committed to reforming Czechoslovak Communism, and argued vehemently in print with fellow Czech writer [[Václav Havel]], saying, essentially, that everyone should remain calm and that "nobody is being locked up for his opinions yet," and "the significance of the Prague Autumn may ultimately be greater than that of the Prague Spring." In 1968, the year his books were banned by the Czech Government, he made his first journey to Paris, where he befriended the publisher [[Claude Gallimard]].<ref name="amoureux" /> After he returned to Prague, he was frequently visited by Gallimard who encouraged Kundera to emigrate to France and also smuggled the manuscript for ''[[Life Is Elsewhere]]'' out of Czechoslovakia.<ref name="amoureux" /> Finally, Kundera gave in and moved to France in 1975.<ref name="amoureux" /> In 1979, his Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked.<ref name="Duffield-2023" /> He lectured for a few years at the [[University of Rennes 2 - Upper Brittany|University of Rennes]].<ref name="amoureux" /><ref name="home" /> After three years, he moved to Paris.<ref name="amoureux" />