Prague 1: Jan Palach and the state of Czech society

We made it to Prague -and back again. It was interesting to visit two sites associated with Jan Palach - the memorial in Wenceslaus Square, at the spot where he set himself on fire, and his grave in the Olsanske cemetery.

Jan Palach set himself on fire in January 1969, protesting against the Soviet invasion and occupation of then Czechoslovakia the previous August. He died a few days later. His suicide note indicated the reason for his suicide. A month later, another student, Jan Zajic also committed suicide at the same spot. Both names appear on the memorial cross at the site in Wenceslaus Square. Whilst their protest had a direct purpose in opposing the Soviet occupation of their country, it also expressed a protest against the lack of freedom of people under a communist regime.

An immediate reflection is that their suicide is not morally justified, and that one should not therefore celebrate it. On the other hand, as Vaclav Havel writes, a feature of "living in the truth" within the context of the lies of an imposed totalitarian state is the willingness to pay the ultimate price for a defence or exercise of freedom against the regime. The memory of Jan Palach in particular has become part of the Czech consciousness.

Jan Palach's grave in the Olsanske cemetery quickly became a place of pilgrimage. The communist authorities then exhumed his remains, cremated them, and sent them to his mother in their home village. Another person was buried in the grave - but it still continued as a shrine to Jan Palach. After the fall of communism, the ashes were returned to the original grave.

Visiting both sites left me with a mixed assessment of Czech society. As we visited the site in Wenceslaus Square after dinner one evening, another group of visitors were just leaving as we arrived. So Jan Palach seems to be definitely remembered. However, the vast majority of visitors to the square, both tourists and Czechs, simply pass on their daily business with little attention to the memorial. Similarly, at the cemetery there were three or four other visitors during the time we were there, one person in particular staying for a while and leaving a lighted candle. Again, I got the impression he was remembered, but not by everyone.

Is Czech society becoming indifferent to its painful recent history?