Senate commemorates 85th anniversary of signing of Munich Agreement

The Czech Senate commemorated the 85th anniversary of the signing of the Munich Agreement on Friday, with Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and his predecessors Petr Pithart and Přemysl Sobotka giving speeches. The Munich Agreement, on the basis of which Nazi Germany annexed Czechoslovakia's border regions in 1938, carries an essential message for the present, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil said in his speech. Former senate president Přemysl Sobotka reminded the audience that no peace was ensured by the Munich Agreement, concluding that democracy must never yield to dictators.

Ambassadors from the signatory countries (Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy), historians and students also took part in the subsequent discussion that followed.

The event took place in the Green Lounge of the Kolovrat Palace, the former seat of the First Republic Czechoslovak government, where the country's leaders were informed of the wording of the agreement on September 30, 1938.