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:
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the student demonstration against Nazis in 1939
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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.
