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Current AffairsCzechs, who suffered hard labour under Communists, honoured in Prague
Prague City Hall held a special ceremony on Thursday honouring Czechs
forced in the Stalinist 1950s to serve in army units that were in reality
nothing more than labour camps. An estimated 40 to 60 thousand men, singled
out as enemies of the regime, served in such units between the years 1950
and 1954, after which they were officially disbanded. But even 60 years
later the scars remain. More
One on OneJan Bubeník – one of the student leaders of the Velvet Revolution
Jan Bubeník was one of the organisers of a student march in Prague on
November 17, 1989 to mark the anniversary of a Nazi crackdown on Czech
universities 50 years previously. When the marchers carried on to Národní
St in the centre of the city they were brutally attacked by police, an
incident which set in train the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia.
Bubeník quickly became one of the student leaders of the Velvet
Revolution, and even served briefly as a member of parliament. Today he
runs a successful recruitment agency. At its Prague offices the other day,
I asked Jan Bubeník what were his strongest memories of the Velvet
Revolution.
More
One on OneChinese prison camp victim and human rights activist Harry Wu
In this week’s One on One I talk to Chinese Human rights activist Harry
Wu. He survived 19 years in Chinese prison camps. Released during a thaw in
1979, he was later invited to the United States where he became a citizen.
There he has devoted himself to uncovering details of the Chinese labour
camp system, risking a fresh term in the camps when he went back to China
in 1995. On the sidelines of a conference in Prague about communist crimes,
I asked him what he had been able to find out about the Chinese camp
system.
More
Current AffairsFormer Albanian political prisoner among guests at Mene Tekel festival
This week, Prague is hosting the fourth international Mene Tekel festival
which highlights the crimes of communism and presents the testimonies of
those persecuted by totalitarian regimes. On Thursday, the festival is
screening a short Albanian documentary called Prison Nation, which
describes one of Europe’s most vicious communist regimes. Radio Prague
met with Tomor Aliko, a former Albanian political prisoner, whose powerful
testimony is featured in the film. More
PanoramaLarge open-air exhibition in Prague looks at 20th-century Czech history through stories of bravery
Descending the historic Old Castle Stairs on the way from Prague Castle to
the left bank of the Vltava River, an unusual structure will catch your eye
in the middle of a small park between the river and a busy road. The
five-and-a-half-metre tall wooden watchtower looks strangely out of place
among the 19th-century urban architecture. It is an exact replica of a
watchtower from a communist-era labour camp near the town of Příbram
southwest of Prague. As a symbol of the oppression of the communist regime,
the watchtower is part of an extensive outdoor exhibition titled “We Did
Not Give It Up/Stories of the 20th Century” which has just opened in
Prague to mark the twentieth anniversary of the fall of communism.
More
Current AffairsNew website collects testimonies of witnesses of 20th century history
Three major Czech institutions have joined together to launch a unique
website called Paměť národa or Memory of the Nation. It will give the
public and scholars access to an archive of personal memories of 20th
century history, including the horrors of the Holocaust and communist
persecution. The materials are gathered by individuals, non-profit
organisations and other institutions across Europe and they are accessible
to the general public.
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