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From the ArchivesAfter Palach: fears and hopes
In last week’s From the Archives we followed the tragic last days of the
student Jan Palach, who on January 16 1969 set himself alight in protest
against growing apathy in the face of the Soviet invasion five months
earlier. The whole country was in shock. Such a drastic and violent
sacrifice had little precedent in modern Czech and Slovak history, and
perhaps for just that reason Palach immediately became a symbol of the
country’s lost liberty and a rallying cry for those who still hoped to
save something of the reforms of 1968. Those in power had to be cautious;
they were well aware that Palach’s legacy could be explosive. More
From the ArchivesThe last days of Jan Palach
On the evening of January 16 1969, Czechoslovak Radio broadcast a
disturbing item of news: “Today at around 3 pm, 21-year-old J.P., a
student at the Philosophical Faculty suffered serious burns on Wenceslas
Square. He poured an as yet unknown flammable liquid over himself and set
his clothes alight resulting in severe burns.” More
Czech HistoryNew website presents the life and sacrifice of Jan Palach
It was one of the most remarkable single acts in Czechoslovak history, one
that still today evokes mingled shock and admiration. Now the documents,
reports, essays and films relating to the self-immolation of Jan Palach -
five months after the invasion of his country by Warsaw Pact forces – is
available to the public through a new website launched to commemorate the
life and sacrifice of the young activist. More
ArtsHow the Velvet Revolution overturned the literary landscape
Writers were at the forefront of the Velvet Revolution. But when the dust
settled on the political changes they found a fast changing publishing
revolution underway that left some of them sidelined. We look at the
changes in the publishing and literary world over the last two decades. More
One on OneVáclav Havel’s decency gave him courage, says his former advisor Jiří Pehe
People in the Czech Republic and around the world hail the late
ex-president Václav Havel as a great European, a humanist and a man who
stood up to the communist regime, a decent and courageous man who led his
country to democracy. In this special edition of One on One, we talk to
political commentator Jiří Pehe who served as Václav Havel’s chief
political advisor in the late 1990s. More
Current AffairsNation mourns death of a hero
The death of Vaclav Havel stopped Czechs in their tracks on Sunday. A hush
fell over the country as thousands of people gathered to light candles and
pay a silent tribute to the hero of the Velvet Revolution. At 6 pm bells
around the Czech Republic tolled in memory of the man who showed endless
courage in the face of oppression and who led his nation on the road to
freedom and democracy. More
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