Palach Week

15. 1. 1989-21. 1. 1989

On Sunday, 15 January 1989, representatives of independent initiatives attempted to honour the memory of Jan Palach on Wenceslas Square. The then security forces brutally intervened against them and all those present. Further demonstrations followed, again brutally repressed.

Vojmír Kubíček 2019

Vojmír Kubíček

* 1963

Witness of local events from the Communist era

21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 17. 4. 1969 – A. Dubček’s resignation, start of the “normalisation” period, 21. 8. 1988 – 17. 11. 1989 – Street demonstrations against the communist regime, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Palach Week

In a production of The Wax Figurine, photo by Studio Ypsilon

Jiří Lábus

* 1950

Art and censorship, A cultural celebrity

21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 28. 1. 1977 - The “Anti-Charter”, Palach Week, 17. 11. 1989 - Demonstration at Národní třída, 29. 6. 1989 – Zveřejnění manifestu Několik vět

René Levínský

Ing. René Levínský Ph.D.

* 1970

The Student activist during the Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, Witness of local events from the Communist era

17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Palach Week

Miroslav Machotka, photo for the Host magazine, 2000

Ing. Miroslav Machotka

* 1946

Relatives of important personalities, Radio Free Europe, Witness of local events from the Communist era, Art and censorship, A cultural celebrity

1948 - 1955 - Politic lawsuit in the Stalin age, 31. 5. – 8. 6. 1950 – Milada Horáková’s trial, 31. 10. 1967 – Spontaneous student demonstration in Prague, 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 25. 1. 1969 Jan Palach´s funeral and 3 more anniversaries

Jana Marco in 1985

Jana Marco

* 1966

Human Rights Defender, Dissident, Political prisoner after 1968 in Czechoslovakia, Politician, Relatives of important personalities and 3 more categories

Palach Week, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, 29. 6. 1989 – Zveřejnění manifestu Několik vět, 1. 1. 1977 - Declaration of Chart 77

Pavel Marek in 2020

Pavel Marek

* 1929 †︎ 2022

PTP (Auxiliary Technical Battalions), Boy Scouts, Witness of local events from the Communist era, Forced Labour Camps (1948 - 1954)

1945 - 1948 - First renewal of Junák, 25. 2. 1948 - Communist coup d‘état in ČSR, 5. 1. - 21. 8. 1968 - The Prague Spring, 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 21. 8. 1988 – 17. 11. 1989 – Street demonstrations against the communist regime and 2 more anniversaries

Jana Marková - portrait photography

Jana Marková

* 1930

Relatives of important personalities, Relative of a political prisoner, Students who were for political reasons expelled from school, The underground

15. 3. 1939 - The Nazi occupation of ČSR, 1. 9. 1939 - The outbreak of the WW2, 10. 6. 1942 – Destruction of Lidice, 27. 5. 1942 - Assassination of R. Heydrich, 1944 - 1945 - The liberation of Czechoslovakia and 21 more anniversaries

Luděk Marks in the 1980s
(Photo: archive of Martin Machovec)

Luděk Marks

* 1963

The underground, Dissident, Journalist, Charter 77 signatory, Writer and 5 more categories

21. 8. 1988 – 17. 11. 1989 – Street demonstrations against the communist regime, 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, Palach Week, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, 17. 11. 1989 - Demonstration at Národní třída

Leoš Mayer

* 1964

Dissident, Charter 77 signatory, The underground, Anti-communist rebel, Art and censorship

21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 21. 8. 1988 – 17. 11. 1989 – Street demonstrations against the communist regime, 1. 1. 1977 - Declaration of Chart 77, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, 29. 6. 1989 – Zveřejnění manifestu Několik vět and 1 more anniversaries

Jaromír Mergl in his youth

Jaromír Mergl

* 1962

Relative of a political prisoner, Witness of local events from the Communist era, The underground, A cultural celebrity, Life along the Iron Curtain

30. 5. 1953 – 3. 6. 1953 – The monetary reform and subsequent public upheaval, 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 1989 - The fall of the iron curtain, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, 2022 - full scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine and 1 more anniversaries

Statistics: 19313 Witnesses the Database; 10829 Witness Stories; 20118 Registered Researchers; 160560 Photos; 64717 Clips