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Current AffairsBreakthrough in the investigation of WWII massacre in Velke Mezirici
As the Second World War came to an end in 1945, numerous atrocities were
committed in towns across Czechoslovakia, as the Czech people rose up
against Nazi occupation. Investigations into the Nazi massacre which
occurred in the final days of the war in Leskovice have revealed that
those responsible for several of these crimes are still living in Germany
today. Now, police have made a number of discoveries about another such
slaughter in Velke Mezirici, which have brought detectives closer than
ever before to finding out the truth about events.
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One on OneJiri Stransky - duty-bound to tell young generation about Communism
Rob Cameron's guest on this week's One on One is the writer, film-maker and
chairman of the Czech PEN club Jiri Stransky. Jiri Stransky's family was
persecuted by both the Nazis and the Communists - Jiri himself was
imprisoned by the Communists on two occasions for speaking out against the
totalitarian regime. He's now involved in a project to teach schoolchildren
about the injustices of Communism.
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PanoramaCzechoslovakia: 'Island of Democracy' and refuge between the wars
Czechoslovakia was one of the few states in Europe between the wars with a
genuine parliamentary democracy. The First Republic, as it became known,
was a multiethnic one: apart from Czechs and Slovaks, nearly a quarter of
its people were ethnic Germans; the Tesin region in the north had a large
Polish minority, while South Slovakia and Ruthenia were home to some
three-quarters of a million Hungarians. Up until the Munich Pact of 1938
and subsequent Nazi occupation, Czechoslovakia was a magnet for refugees
from Hitler's Germany, communist Russia, Ukraine, and elsewhere, says Dr
David Kraft, curator of the new exhibit "Exile in Prague and
Czechoslovakia 1918-1938". More
SpecialFranz-Ulrich Kinsky - the aristocrat suing the Czech Republic for over a billion dollars in property
The Kinskys are one of the oldest Czech noble families, with the first
recorded mention of their name in the 13th century. But today Franz-Ulrich
Kinsky is a figure of controversy in the Czech Republic, where he has filed
over 150 lawsuits against the state and individuals; he is seeking the
return of more than 1.4 billion dollars worth of property he says was
illegally confiscated after World War II.
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Current AffairsThe complex legacy of the president many would prefer to forget
A handful of people gathered on Monday at Prague's Vinohrady Cemetery to
mark the 60th anniversary of the death of Czechoslovakia's third
President, Emil Hacha. It was an event that wasn't marked with pomp and
ceremony: Emil Hacha remained in office throughout the German wartime
occupation, and he is remembered by many as a symbol of wartime
collaboration. David Vaughan reports. More
Current AffairsCommemorating Jan Opletal, whose murder triggered off traditional November 17 student marches
On the morning of November 17th 1989 no one would have ever believed that
the events of that day would lead to the collapse of forty years of
Communist rule. A quiet and peaceful student march was violently cracked
down by police. Some 170 students were injured, triggering a wave of
nationwide strikes and protests. Just weeks later, the Communist regime
fell. But few people are aware that the student march was held to
commemorate events fifty years earlier. On October 28th, 1939, a student
demonstration protesting at the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia saw
medical student Jan Opletal shot dead.
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