Exhibition looks back at traumatic moments of Czechoslovakia
325 views · Published 10 October 2018 · 3:58 · Indexed 22 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(5 Oct 2018) LEADIN An exhibition, looking back at some of the most traumatic moments in the history of Czechoslovakia, has opened in Prague. "The Memory of the Nation" marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia as an independent state. STORYLINE: The 100th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia is being marked at a place rife with meaning for the country. Underneath a site, which once housed a huge monument dedicated to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, is an exhibition called "The Memory of the Nation". It focuses on the nation's experience with two totalitarian regimes in the turbulent 20th century: the Nazi occupation and the Communist rule. The multimedia project created by Post Bellum, a not-for profit organisation, has recorded interviews with witnesses of the key moments in their country's past. They display them on screens in darkened rooms in the cavernous foundation beneath the former Stalin statue. "We are collecting the memories of witnesses from the 20th century, and the 20th century is full of traumas. We wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia," says Jana Holcova, a spokesperson for Post Bellum. The organisers hope they will contribute to an ongoing process of better coping with the past, while helping the younger generation to understand it. Entry is free of charge for school groups and students. At one underground part of the exhibition, visitors stand behind a chain link fence and watch a video which allows them to experience what it was like to be a RAF pilot shooting down a Nazi plane in WWII during the Battle of Britain, in which many Czechs participated. Another section illustrates Nazi cruelty, the interrogation by the feared Communist-era secret police and the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia which crushed a period of liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring. A moment from the anti-Communist 1989 Velvet Revolution led by Vaclav Havel comes at the end. Another section presents personal testimonies from witnesses, including Holocaust survivors, political prisoners and a communist investigator. They include subtitles in Czech and English. The exhibition also includes a 50-metre long and five-mere high wall, which effectively prevents people from seeing Prague from a spot that is popular with locals and tourists. Martin Hejl, art director of the exhibition, says it is meant to symbolise the totalitarian period, censorship and the division of people and: "refers to archetypical sites such as the Berlin Wall and so on." By visiting, people have a rare chance to explore a large underground space located just under the site of the Stalin monument at Prague's Letna park. Just two sections of the overall 8,500 square metres were available to host the exhibition due to the poor condition of the rest. "By telling the stories we wanted to contribute to a better coping of the Czech society with the past, especially coping with the communism which is ongoing," adds Holcova. Czechoslovakia was created as an independent state on 28 October 1918 as the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed at the end of the Great War. It ceased to exist in 1993 after a peaceful split of the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. "The Memory of the Nation" runs until 9 December 2018. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c0bb542e6b4b48e575a43039364b0627
