Memorial to President Benes sparks controversy

A memorial to the second Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes was unveiled on Monday in front of the Foreign Ministry headquarters near the Prague Castle. President Benes is not as widely popular today as his predecessor, Tomas Garigue Masaryk. But he is still very much respected among many Czechs, who see Edvard Benes as a champion of democracy and fighter against Nazism. Their view is, however, not shared by the Sudeten Germans — ethnic Germans expelled after World War II —who blame President Benes for their plight.

The statue of Edvard Benes, photo: CTK

The unveiling ceremony was widely attended by a number of politicians, including the Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, but above all by many Czech veterans, members of the anti-fascist resistance movement, and of the patriotic association Sokol.

The speakers stressed President Edvard Benes's merits, especially his leadership of the London-based government in exile during the Second World War, and his fight against Nazism.

The Chairman of the Lower House of Parliament, Lubomir Zaoralek:

"Right now, after we have discussed the events of the Second Ward War on the occasion of its 60th anniversary, it seems to me it is the right time to speak about our history. You know that Benes was one of the greatest fighters on the side of Churchill, Queen Wilhelmina, De Gaulle.....He is a part of the gallery of the great fighters of the Second World War. In the war against cruel Nazi regime he was on the side of democracy freedom and justice."

Joy Kadeckova from Great Britain has served in RAF, the Royal Air Force, during the war. She married a Czech pilot and worked for the Benes' government in exile during the war. She found the installation of the memorial to Benes deeply satisfying.

"I think he represents Czechoslovakia of that time. He did his job well in London, everybody held him in great respect. I think he deserves this very belated honour which has been bestowed of him. To make it now 65 years after is too late."

Edmund Stoiber, photo: CTK

But the memorial installation was not welcome by everyone. The German expellees who were forced to leave Czechoslovakia after the war, view President Benes as someone who has taken a great part in their expulsion and they strongly criticised the memorial installation. At a gathering of Sudeten Germans in the town of Augsburg last weekend, the Prime Minister of the German federal state of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber, compared Benes to Stalin and called the Benes memorial installation a "provocation".

Lubomir Zaoralek strongly rejected this characterisation of President Benes.

"I regret it very much that something like that has been said. It is impossible and absurd to put Benes in one rank with Stalin. Since Mr. Benes was together with Mr. Masaryk a founder of Czechoslovak state in 1918, this attack is also an attack against Masaryk and against that state. That is why I am so sorry that something like that has been said. But I hope this is only a minority opinion. For me it is important that I know great European democratic politicians in Germany who are our very good partners, who realize what is important for us, and who are willing to accept our respect to President Benes."

But President Edvard Benes is not free of criticism even in the Czech Republic. In the Munich Agreement in the autumn of 1938, the Allies agreed to allow Hitler to annex the Czech border regions, in an effort to appease him. Some believe that Benes' subsequent decision not to defend Czechoslovakia militarily was unforgivable. Others take issue with Benes' own appeasement policy after the war towards the communists and the Soviet Union and say he made the "bloodless coup" of February 1948 and communist accession to power easier. Still, on the whole, while opinion is divided on his policies, Edvard Benes himself remains one of the most respected political figures in Czech modern history.