Prague in the footsteps of the totalitarian past: Fun and educational morning for children and youth in the center of Prague

The program on Mariánské náměstí will take place on Saturday, May 27, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.. The event will be aimed at younger children and youth, who will learn interesting information about our communist past in an interactive and playful way.

The organizers will guide the young participants through places connected with the communist past. There will be children during the guided walk perform fun tasks. The event will be held in a conversational and entertaining manner, no “fussing” of dates. Questions and tasks will be divided into two categories according to age so that children can complete them. Prizes and rewards are prepared for all participants, slightly larger rewards will then be given to the most successful. The game itself takes approximately three quarters of an hour.

The organizers will take the participants, for example, to the Kinsky Palace on the Old Town Square, where the famous photograph of Klement Gottwald with Vladimír Clementis was taken in February 1948, which was later retouched from the photograph. Another place is the Prague intersection – the former church of St. Anna, in whose rescue Václav Havel participated. Also on the program will be, for example, Stavovské (formerly Tylovo) theater, where Miloš Forman filmed a number of scenes for the famous film Amadeus.

“The project is called In the footsteps of the totalitarian past and it is precisely about walking in the footsteps of history where it happened. Not just in the school classroom, this way it has a far greater reach. Here in the center of Prague, in the Old Town, it is an open textbook by itself” said the author of the project and the founder of the Bez komunistů.cz initiative, Petr Marek.

As part of the game morning, the centenary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Radio, which was several times at the center of historical events at crucial moments in our history, will also be commemorated.

The event will take place in any weather and there is no need to register in advance. There will be a stand with an additional program on Mariánské náměstí, which will be dedicated to those arriving later.

I walk with my head held high

Saturday’s games will kick off a month-long reminder campaign called I walk with my head held high. The name was not chosen by chance. These are the words Milada Horáková wrote a few hours before she was executed by communists after being sentenced to death in a fabricated political trial.

As early as the 11th, a piet will be held at the “Children’s Cemetery” in Ďáblice, where children who died in criminal cases, where their mothers were imprisoned, but also at the border when trying to escape together with their families, are buried.

Films by documentary filmmaker and director Kristýna Vlachová will also be screened during the commemorative month. There will also be outings with children or screenings in schools. The symbol of remembrance is a memorial ribbon with a piece of rope that reminds Milada Horáková.

Memorial ribbon with a piece of rope commemorating Milada Horáková

Author: Anastazie Podhůrská

The month-long campaign will culminate on June 27i.e. on the day when we commemorate the anniversary of the death of Milada Horáková, and at the same time it is the day of commemoration of the victims of the communist regime. On this morning, a memorial gathering will be held at the memorial in Újezda. The evening will then pass light pieta with candles at the monument in Sněmovní street.

“The goal of the month-long campaign is to educate young generations about the fact that the communist regime was not free, as it is also stated in the law from 1993. It is also a warning for the future,” adds its author Petr Marek to the project.