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Czech HistoryThe bombing of Prague from a new perspective
For all the suffering that Bohemia and Moravia endured during WWII,
relatively little of the damage was physical. Prague escaped the terrible
bombing that left so many of the ancient cities of Europe wasted. There
were incidents, however - two in particular in the last year of the war
that brought large-scale destruction and great loss of life. More
From the ArchivesYuri Gagarin: to Prague via the stratosphere
Even after the death of Stalin in the Soviet Union and Klement Gottwald in
Czechoslovakia the 1950s remained a period of high political tension
between East and West. The Cold War was at its height; with it came the
arms race and the space race. Here is Czechoslovakia’s president Antonín
Novotný, in a New Year radio address on January 1 1958: More
From the ArchivesStalin and Gottwald: together in life and death
When Joseph Stalin died on March 5 1953, it sent shockwaves round the
world. In Czechoslovakia his personality cult had been almost as
overwhelming as in the Soviet Union itself. At the time of his death, work
was already well under way to build the biggest statue of the Soviet
dictator in the world – unveiled two years later in Letná Park. Stalin
had a close ally and kindred spirit in the Czechoslovak President, Klement
Gottwald, and Gottwald ignored warnings from his doctors in order to attend
his friend and protector’s funeral. Before leading the Czechoslovak
delegation to Moscow, he had a few words for his country’s citizens. More
Current AffairsSurvivors remember first transport to Terezín in winter of 1941
It's exactly seventy years since the first transport of Czechoslovak Jews
left Prague, bound for the garrison town of Terezín, transformed by the
Nazis into a ghetto and concentration camp. Some 140,000 Jewish men, women
and children were sent to Terezín, known as Theresienstadt in German; most
of them were later killed at Auschwitz. A number of events were held this
week bringing together Terezín survivors, one of them on Thursday evening
at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. More
ArtsDVD series resurrects 1950s Czechoslovak Socialist Realist films
Filmy patří lidu (Films Belong to the People) is the title of a series of
Socialist Realist pictures that have been released on DVD in the Czech
Republic in recent months. These propaganda-filled films are from the
1950s, the harshest decade of the communist era, notorious for its brutal
repression, show trials and forced labour camps. More
Current AffairsAnniversary of Velvet Revolution marked by anti-government demonstrations
On Thursday, November 17th, the Czech Republic marked 22 years since the
start of the Velvet Revolution as well as the 72nd anniversary of the
events of November 1939 which resulted in the closure of all Czech
universities by the Nazis and reprisals against students and intellectuals.
But many Czechs used the holiday to voice their discontent with the current
government policies. More
SpecialMuseum of Communism offers foreign visitors a glimpse of life behind the Iron Curtain
On Prague’s Na Prikope street, in the very heart of the city –right
next to McDonalds – is a Museum of Communism. What comes as a surprise to
many locals and foreign visitors is that this private venture is the work
of an American businessman who owns a number of bars and restaurants in the
Czech capital. Glenn Spicker came to Prague 17 years ago, on a wave of
interest in the post communist world. Unlike others he launched a
successful business venture and stayed. As Glenn gave me a tour of the
museum, he explained what made him branch out so far from his field of
enterprise. More
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