On 2 September 2024, the opening and guided tour of the exhibition Tigrid: Journalist, Exile and Politician took place at Mariánské náměstí in Prague. Tigrid's life was greatly influenced by the great turning points of the 20th century. He went into exile twice and returned to his homeland twice. During the German occupation, he worked for the Czechoslovak BBC in London. After the war he worked as a journalist in the People's Party press. At the beginning of the 1950s he was the head of the Czechoslovak editorial office of Radio Free Europe in Munich. In 1956 he co-founded the exile magazine Svědectví, which he edited until the early 1990s. He supported the domestic opposition. After the fall of the communist regime, he worked in the presidential office as an advisor to Václav Havel. In 1994-1995 he held the post of Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic. He received high Czech, French and German state honours.
The opening was attended by Pavel Tigrid's daughter, Mrs. Deborah Tigrid-Marguerat, who opened the exhibition. Petr Pithart and Petr Brod also accepted the invitation (link to their memories of Pavel Tigrid below). The opening of the exhibition was opened by Petr Blažek, Director of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century. The opening was addressed by the Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Prague, Mr. Jiří Pospíšil and the Mayor of Prague 1 Terezie Radoměřská, who granted the exhibition patronage. Pavel Tigrid was also remembered by the chairman of the board of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century, Hana Kordová Marvanová, a member of the aforementioned board, František Stárek, and the former chairman of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Petr Pithart.
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive printed catalogue in Czech, which can be purchased in the Kosmas bookstore network. Its editor is Petr Blažek, co-authors Michal Macháček, Teresa Urbář and Kryštof Zeman. English and French versions are also available as an e-book.
The exhibition is on display at Mariánské náměstí until 30 September 2024.
Press release
Catalogue of the exhibition about Pavel Tigrid
Memories of Pavel Tigrid
Worksheet for schools on the exhibition about Pavel Tigrid
Tigrid: Journalist, exile and politician (PDF)
Tigrid: Journaliste, exilé et homme politique (PDF)
Photo galleries:
Photos by Marta Myšková