The Woodrow Wilson monument will appear in front of the Main Train Station

Prague - The American Friends of the Czech Republic (AfoCR) announced today a selection process for the author of the restoration of the monument to American President Woodrow Wilson in Prague. The monument by Albín Polášek (1879 to 1965) is set to stand once again in front of the main train station in Prague. CTK was informed of this today by Magdaléna Vošalíková from the agency representing the organizers.
    Applications can be submitted until the end of July, and the results will be announced on September 30. Details about the selection process can be found at the website www.afocr.org/pamatnik.html.
    The Woodrow Wilson monument was erected in 1928 in Vrchlického sady opposite the main train station. It was funded by expatriates from Chicago. During the occupation, the monument was destroyed by the Nazis in 1941. The location where the monument stood is now occupied by a new train hall.
    The monument was designed by Albín Polášek, who was born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, studied in Rome, Philadelphia, and led the Sculpture Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for nearly 30 years. The Albín Polášek Foundation, which was established and owns his copyrights, is a partner in the project and has granted licenses for the restoration of this statue.
    In January 2008, the original plaster cast of the head and shoulders was discovered in the storage of the National Gallery. Based on this, experts from the Department of Cybernetics at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague will create a digital model that the sculptor will use in the creation of the statue.
    After the fall of socialism, some statues, especially those of totalitarian regime politicians, disappeared from Prague. However, many others were erected. For example, in Hradčanské náměstí stands the monument to the first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, and in Žižkov, there is a statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
    Woodrow Wilson served as President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. He is noted in history for his domestic political successes and for announcing a program presented to Congress in January 1918. He called for open diplomacy, freedom of trade, worldwide disarmament, the right of nations to self-determination, and primarily for the establishment of the League of Nations. The program also included principles for ending World War I, which included talks about autonomy for the nations of the Habsburg monarchy.
    The non-profit organization American Friends of the Czech Republic focuses on relations between the United States and the Czech Republic in the areas of trade, business ethics, legal system reform, and education. Since its founding in 1995, AfoCR has brought together circles of American society that support the Czech Republic. In 2002, it initiated the creation of a monument to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in Washington.