The memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc has been commemorated since January 2000 by a monument near the museum

Publisher
ČTK
15.01.2025 07:15

Prague - The memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, two young individuals who, in early 1969, set themselves on fire in an effort to awaken the nation from lethargy and to incite resistance against the incoming normalization, has been commemorated since January 16, 2000, with a striking monument located under the National Museum at Wenceslas Square in Prague. The work of artist Barbora Veselá and architects Čestmír Houska and Jiří Veselý consists of two low circular mounds rising from the pavement, connected by a bronze cross.


The monument, unveiled on the 31st anniversary of Palach's act, is situated at the place where a twenty-year-old student of the Prague Faculty of Philosophy poured gasoline on himself and set himself ablaze. "In protest against everything that is happening here. Against the lack of freedom of speech and press. Tell everyone," Palach replied to a nurse in the hospital, where he was taken with severe burns, when she asked him about the reasons for his act. He fought for his life for three days and refused pain-relieving medication so he could remain conscious and clarify why he had made the sacrifice.

In a letter he left at the site of his act, he urged that steps be taken to save the last remnants of democracy. "Given that our nations have found themselves on the brink of despair, we decided to express our protest and awaken the people of this country in the following way: Our group consists of volunteers who are willing to set themselves on fire for our cause. I had the honor of drawing the unit...," he wrote. In the letter, he called for the abolition of censorship and the prohibition of the distribution of occupying press.

To this day it is unclear whether the group actually existed; however, Palach found followers. The absolute dimension of Palach's sacrifice was echoed on February 25, 1969, when student Jan Zajíc from the Šumperk Secondary Technical School imitated it just a few dozen meters further on Wenceslas Square. Zajíc raised a wave of resistance against the incoming regime, albeit temporarily. Young people began to hold a hunger strike in Wenceslas Square to meet their demands, soon joined by others throughout the country. In the center of Prague, rallies were held in which people expressed support for his message.

According to historians, Palach's act was not a desperate impulsive action; he had been planning it for six months. Shortly before the fateful day, he even considered occupying the radio station with students, which would trigger an "effective action on a nationwide scale," as he wrote to student leader Lubomír Holeček. However, the future normalizers were already firmly seated in their chairs by January 1969, and spontaneous protests after Palach's death were hastily labeled as the exploitation of the situation by "antisocialist forces."

Jan Palach succumbed to the consequences of extensive burns on January 19, 1969. His funeral in Prague six days later became a major demonstration for freedom and democracy. The mourning procession through the Old Town at that time was attended by around 200,000 people. Yet, within a few months, the authorities began to erase Palach's memory. His grave at the Olšany Cemetery was guarded by the State Security, which prevented people from placing flowers there on anniversaries. Ultimately, in 1974, the communists had Palach's cremated remains moved to Všetaty.

It was there that Palach, who lost his father at the age of 13, grew up; he graduated in 1966 from nearby Mělník. However, he was only accepted to study history and political economy on his second attempt, as his entrepreneurial origin initially posed an obstacle, leading him to spend two years at the University of Economics. The college student Palach was intensely interested in political and public life and experienced the entire year of 1968 deeply. He also participated in the November student strike, which was suppressed by the media, and protested against the legalization of the August occupation.

Normalization media avoided mentioning his act two decades after Palach's death; even the name of Jan Zajíc was taboo. However, people did not forget their actions. The memorial act for the 20th anniversary of Palach's death in January 1989 unexpectedly shook the communist regime. It unexpectedly turned into the strongest outburst of protest against the regime. Thousands of people were not afraid to repeatedly express their dissatisfaction, risking a harsh crackdown by the security forces. The intensity of the protests surprised not only the ruling politicians but also the opposition.

Only after November 1989 did the memory of Palach (as well as Zajíc) begin to be finally honored. The square in front of the UK Faculty of Philosophy was named after Jan Palach, and in January 1991, a posthumous mask by Olbram Zoubek was unveiled on the building of the school. Palach's act was also commemorated by other works, both sculptural and in the form of television series and feature films. The National Museum in Všetaty opened Palach's memorial, which includes his birthplace and a new building with a multimedia exhibition.
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