Exhibition: “We Did Not Give Up, or Stories of the 20th Century”

Prague, 27 October 2009

– An outdoor exhibition called “We Did Not Give Up, or Stories of the 20th Century” will open in Prague for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. This event is dedicated to the people who sacrificed themselves in the fight against the totalitarian regimes of the last century. The exhibition is being held under the auspices of the Czech prime minister Jan Fischer, and it will be formally opened at Prague Castle on 29 October 2009. The exhibition “We Did Not Give Up, or Stories of the 20th Century” will be held in the centre of Prague from 29 October to 23 November 2009. The event tells the stories of specific people and celebrates the heroes who were willing to take a stand against injustices under the totalitarian Nazi and communist regimes of the 20th century. These people fought for freedom, made sacrifices or played an important role in the events that led to the fall of the Iron Curtain in the former communist Czechoslovakia and still live among us today. 150 exhibition panels will present portraits of war veterans, anti-Nazi and anti-communist resistance fighters, people who survived Nazi or communist labour camps, dissidents and students from 17 November 1989. Through their stories, visitors will recall the events that occurred in this nation during the 20th century. With eleven stops along the way, the exhibition’s route will symbolically cover the journey from Prague Castle to Wenceslas Square via Klárov and Národní třída. The people whose stories will be presented in the exhibition include Josef Hercz, Anna Hyndráková, Vasil Korol, František Zahrádka, Oto Mádr, Václav Malý, Vladimír Merta and Petr Placák among others. The Office of the Government of the Czech Republic has also been involved in preparing the event, which is the largest outdoor exhibition in the history of the Czech Republic. Together with the organisers, Czech prime minister Jan Fischer will announce the commencement of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain on Tuesday, 27 October. You can get more information on the exhibition and these celebrations at www.postbellum.cz or www.pametnaroda.cz

Contacts:

The Post Bellum civic association

Post Bellum is involved in recording the stories of survivors from the anti-Nazi and anti-communist resistance movements of the 20th century (i.e. oral history). It has participated in the Stories of the 20th Century (Příběhy 20. Století) series of radio documentaries and has also contributed to the book Cruel Century (Kruté století – written by Adam Drda and Mikuláš Kroupa). So far, it has broadcast 180 hours of recordings that cover the stories of individuals or phenomena associated with totalitarian regimes.