It is hard to believe that in 1989, the Czech Republic (when it was still Czechoslovakia) was still under communist rule. Yesterday, at the Communism Museum I had an intimate look at what these times were like, and how badly the communist regime functioned. I wrote about communism in the Czech Republic earlier but what I did not really think about until I came to the museum was how brave the Czechs were for fighting for their independence. On November 17, 1989 police suppressed a peaceful student protest, which sparked many other demonstrations until nearly December. Although the term Velvet Revolution is used to describe the events as non-violent and peaceful, from the videos that were shown in the museum this was not what I saw. Protestors were clubbed down by the police and badly beaten, and even women were assaulted. On November 27, nearly all Czechoslovaks participated in a two-hour strike and on the next day the Communist Party announced that it would relinquish all power.
This really made me think about how good overcomes evil, and that when people fight for their rights and come together, they succeed. It was interesting to see all the old artifacts such as statues of Stalin, propaganda posters, and to read about how at food shops, although people were given rations, people would still go back to trading goods and people who obtained more money would be able to sneak more items. It goes to show that even though communism looks good on paper, it has been proven not to function.
A replica of an interrogation room of the Communist Party
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