I had a few visitors from Asia who were visiting the National Museum last week. I wasn’t able to go with them because it was a weekday, a working day for me. While at work, I got a SMS from one of them asking me what happened on August 21, 1968. They informed me that there were exhibitions mostly photos of tanks and soldiers but since the captions were in Czech, they couldn’t understand anything.
The exhibit poster.
August 21, 1968 is the day when Soviet and Warsaw pact armies saved communism in Czech Republic. There was an attempt to make reforms headed by Alexander Dubcek and the allied armies of Soviet Union and Warsaw invaded our country to halt the said reforms. Read the Prague Spring for more information.
If you want to see it, you can still catch the exhibition which runs from August 21 until September 30, 2008 in front of the National Museum and also in the foyer.
At the museum’s foyer.
Displays of postcards sent by Dubcek’s supporters when he was in custody.
The battle tank, displayed outside the museum.
Coincidentally, the Czech National Museum is also celebrating its 190th anniversary this year. There is also an exhibition and film showing on the ground floor at the special hall which showcases how the museum was built, how it survived the invasion and the bombings and the repairs being done.
The white patches on the columns are repairs on bullet holes that riddled the museum during the invasion.
Czechoslovak history during 20th century was not really happy, the great period of Czechoslovak democratic Republic (1918-1938) was ended by coming of Nazis and then World War II, when Bohemia and Moravia were occupied. There was only brief period of freedom after the war, because already in February 1948 communists came to rule. Czechoslovakia thus became one of Soviet satelites. The late forties and the early fifties were extremely hard for some people, especially for those who were against the regime. Later, when in USSR died comrade Stalin in 1953, the public life was slowly starting to be more liberal. But the really big turn about was to come in 1968. It was called the Prague Spring. In January 1968 reformist Alexandr Dubcek came to the power. He started to work on many reforms, which were to make living in Czechoslovakia better. The economy was to be partialy decentralized, the free speech was to be granded, people could travel more. Now, the living in socialism should be finally good. Dubcek and his followers were calling for “Socialismus s lidskou tvari“ (which could be translated as the Socialism with people’s face), means they still wanted Communism, but without the restrictions (as censorship, poor economy etc.), which were so annoying for the people. So the people liked Dubcek’s reforms. But communist officers in Moscow did not like so. Those in Moscow were afraid of what was happening in Czechoslovakia so they have sent Warsaw Pact (Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria) troops and tanks to occupy the country. And the troops arrived on 21st of August, people were shocked by tanks in streets, for many of them was really hard to believe it. To believe, that Russians finished the period of liberalization. And some of the Russian soldiers were also confused, they were told they are going to free the country, but instead being welcomed, people were telling them to go home.
They staid for long 40 years and Russian influence was immense - the country was politically, morally and economically ruined.
You did such a great job! Thanks for promoting the little Czech Republic. I posted about this event a few times, last on 8/21.