On the occasion of the anniversary of 17 November 1989, the Museum of the Memory of the Twentieth Century, in cooperation with the Polish Institute and the Libri prohibiti Library, has prepared two exhibitions on these important historical events in its new headquarters. As the current situation makes it impossible for interested parties to visit the exhibition in person, it has prepared a guided tour, which will be available online here on 17 November 2020 from 14:00.
On this occasion, the director Jiří Šesták and the chairwoman of the board of trustees Hana Kordová Marvanová will also introduce the new museum headquarters. They will also present the activities of this Prague institution, which will celebrate its first anniversary on 17 November 2020. Petr Blažek, historian and member of the museum's board of trustees, and Maciej Ruczaj, director of the Polish Institute in Prague, will speak about the exhibitions. Jiří Pospíšil, Member of the European Parliament, Councillor of the Capital City of Prague, will also speak. Alexander Vondra, former spokesman for Charter 77 and co-founder of the Civic Forum. The tour will be accompanied by a few songs by Jaroslav Hutka, an actor of the November 1989 events, folk singer, dissident and signatory of Charter 77.
The exhibition Year of Miracles. Czechoslovakia and the collapse of the Soviet bloc was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the communist regime. It was first exhibited on the initiative of Alexander Vondra in November 2019 in the European Parliament under the auspices of the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists). The partner of the exhibition is Libri Prohibiti, a library of samizdat and exile literature, which has provided the visual material for the exhibition. The author of the exhibition is historian Petr Blažek. The main theme of the exhibition is the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia in the international context - especially in the context of the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Attention is therefore paid not only to the domestic events of 1987-1989, but also to the major milestones in the internal development of other Soviet bloc states, with an overlap to 1991. Developments in the various Soviet satellites greatly influenced each other, just as they were influenced by the consequences of the global superpower struggle. There is eloquent talk of a domino effect, as a result of which millions of people gained freedom and satellite states gained independence. The Year of Miracles was also an important turning point in European history, as it opened a new chapter in European integration.
The exhibition Don't Be Afraid! The Church and Central Europe's Path to Freedom was prepared by the Polish Institute in Prague and its partners, especially the Archbishopric of Prague and the Hungarian Institute in Prague. It was created on the occasion of the upcoming 30th anniversary of the Visegrad Group, which will be commemorated in February 2021. It also aims to commemorate this May's 100th anniversary of the birth of John Paul II, the first pope from Central Europe and an important symbol of the struggle for freedom in the region. The exhibition also highlights the role of the Catholic Church during the totalitarian era and the importance of four prominent Central European cardinals: Josef Beran, Jan Chrysostom Korc, József Mindszenty and Stefan Wyszyński. The texts of the exhibition were written by the Polish writer and publicist Grzegorz Górny.
Both exhibitions will be published on the YT channel of the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century, as well as in the Korzo National and Festival of Freedom programmes.
After 12 long years, the House of the Passion comes to life. The history of the house is informed by the Prague City Council: www.praha.eu/jnp/cz/o_meste/magistrat/tiskovy_servis/tiskove_zpravy/dum_pazat_po_dvanacti_letech_oziva.html
For further information you can contact Nadia Ghani at ghani@muzeum20stoleti.cz, gsm: 777 175 155.