Defence minister hands out awards on occasion of VE Day

On the occasion of Victory Day, Defence Minister Jana Černochová awarded 19 personalities, six of them in memoriam, with medals of merit for their contribution to the defence of the Czech Republic and its constitutional order. Among the laureates honoured are Maria Dubská, who took part in the Prague Uprising in May 1945 and František Kolman, a participant in the anti-Nazi resistance, who received the award in memoriam. Awards for merit in the protection of democratic values and human rights were awarded to the late writer and exiled publisher Josef Škvorecký, film director Václav Marhoul and historian Adam Hradilek, among others.