Czechs celebrate 19 years of freedom

Czechs are marking the 19th anniversary of the fall of communism and the return of democracy to their country. Nineteen years ago today the communist police cracked down on an unarmed student demonstration, sparking nationwide solidarity and setting in motion a series of mass protests that led to the fall of communism. Leading politicians, cultural figures and members of the public on Monday visited memorials to the victims of communism on Wenceslas Square, Národní třída and other sites in the Czech Republic to lay flowers and light candles in memory of those who fought against oppression. The commemorative ceremonies are also linked to an earlier anniversary – a student march in 1939 held in protest against the Nazi occupation that was brutally suppressed. The protest served as a pretext for more reprisals against Czech intellectuals. The Nazis raided a university campus on the night of November 17, nine students were executed without a trial and 1200 were deported to the concentration camp in Sachsenhausen. All Czech universities were then closed.