Historian Jan Křen dies at 89 after contracting coronavirus

Historian and ex-dissident Jan Křen died on Tuesday at the age of 89. He had contracted Covid-19 at an old folks’ home in Prague’s Michle district, where he had been resident.

Mr. Křen, who specialised in Czech-German relations, was thrown out of the Communist Party in 1970 over his opposition to the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He later signed Charter 77 and helped run underground apartment seminars. He received a Medal of Merit from President Václav Havel in 2002.

Author: Ian Willoughby