Czech: Historically Speaking

I think what makes Prague so phenomenal is the mixture of medieval and contemporary history. Our focus was the communist era which begins with the communist revolution in 1948. While it was a popular movement and marked by a peaceful shift, the realization of communism quickly shifted from idealism to practicalism as the government “consolidated” to rid opposition. This all culminates with the Prague Spring in 1968. The Prague Spring had been a general period of warming, of reformed communism, of less restricted freedoms of expression. In 1968, the Soviets decided more order was necessary, and they invaded Czechoslovakia.

As rights were slowly taken away, maybe more in self censorship and fear than de jure, the resistance movement grew. In 1969, student Jan Palach set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square to protest compliance with extinguished rights.
Resistance continued with Charter 77, an unofficial civic movement of intellectuals and artists who petitioned their government to implement the human rights they had agreed to by signing the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Our class met one signer, Jaroslav Hutka, a folk singer who was sent into exile for singing about freedom to rally resistors.

Communism fell in Czechoslovakia in 1989 with the Velvet Revolution. It was a peaceful overthrow in response to violent police intervention of a student protest. Havel, the same Havel Jaroslav sings of, was elected president of the new Czech Republic.