Silence United Us More Than SpeechesVladimír Merta

During the revolutionary days of November 1989, Vladimír Merta, one of the most famous singer-songwriters of the eighties, found himself in the crammed Wenceslas Square, on the balcony of the Melantrich Palace. “I played the song ‘Kecy’ (Piffle), opening lyrics of which are: ‘Jsem špatný člověk, …

His last supper with his parentsAsaf Auerbach

Asaf Auerbach remembers the last supper he had with his parents before leaving for England. They had gone to the “posh” Vaňha’s Fish Restaurant on Wenceslas Square. Directly after the meal he and his older brother were to leave on one of the trains that had been dispatched by Nicholas Winton. Asa…

In the mirrorIvan Kieslinger

In the early days of May 1945, Ivan Kieslinger along with other scouts got involved in the Prague uprising. One of his tasks was to maintain the connection between the main post office in Jindřišská Street, which was a key communication center of Prague, and an outpost in the Palacká Street. Tou…

How communists clipped the hockey players' wingsAugustin Bubník

Augustin Bubník was one of the rising stars of the Czechoslovak ice hockey at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s. He was the league’s best shooter in the 1949/1950 season and, together with others, was about to go to London to defend their champions’ title. But the national team did not fly to Lond…

Czech Children ManifestPetr Placák

Czech Children Manifest was written by Petr Placák in the restaurant U Zpěváčků in spring 1988. “I wanted to proclaim something that would by the most unfamiliar and ununderstandable to the communists. So we demanded the restoration of the Czech Kingdom. But in fact it was something that was trad…