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Freedom and Democracy Day Czech 2019

Date: 
Sunday, November 17, 2019

Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day is a celebrated day in the Czech Republic and Slovakia on November 17.

It commemorates two historical events that occurred on this day:

  • the student demonstration against Nazis in 1939
  • and the beginning of the Velvet Revolution in 1989

On October 28, 1939, Jan Opletal, a student of the Charles University in Prague, was shot in the stomach during an anti-Nazi demonstration.

He died on November 11. His funeral on November 15 turned into another demonstration.

As a result, all Czech universities and colleges were closed, over a thousands students were sent to concentration camps, and 9 students were executed on November 17, 1939.

The Velvet Revolution was a non-violent overthrow of communist regime in Czechoslovakia.

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