The communists, however, were not that complaisant. As a protest against their take-over in February 1948 (see: Communism), Horáková, who by now had become not only a member of the Parliament, but also the head of the Czech Women’s Council and one of the leaders of the National Socialist Party, withdraw from all her functions and left politics. The communists were still not satisfied. Assuming (probably correctly) that a democrat with Horáková’s moral integrity and broad popularity wouldn’t silently tolerate their appalling abuse of human rights, they fabricated evidence and charged her with treason and espionage.
Horáková fought like a tiger to the bitter end, but didn’t have a chance against the Bolshevik machinery. She was executed on June 27, 1950.
It’s tempting to claim that Milada Horáková didn’t die in vain. Like Jan Palach, she certainly represented a bright light in the dictatorship’s darkness. After the Velvet Revolution, a monument in Horáková’s honour was erected at Prague’s Slavín Cemetery, where the nation’s most prominent daughters and sons are buried. The location of Horáková’s monument, in front of the others, even indicates that she is a hero among the heroes.
Yet the brave politician’s death more than half a century ago still evokes some painful thoughts. Notwithstanding the posthumous honour she has rightfully been awarded, it’s often forgotten that Horáková was not killed by Soviet advisers, as some Czechs like to believe, but by her own countrymen. Not a single person has been charged for staging the murder.
Even worse, during the mock trial, hordes of brainwashed Czechs signed a petition that demanded her death. One can only pray that those who still might be alive are tormented by a guilty conscience. And one should also keep in mind that the bravest and most hard-balled politician in modern Czech history actually was a woman.
Hospoda
“Today, all parts of the Czech lands are as a big inn or shelter, where one can, not just for a few days, but for the entirety of one’s life, heartily enjoy all delights and riches.”
These enthusiastic words were written by the Jesuit priest and historian Josef Balbín in the 1680s and seem as apt today as they were three and a half centuries ago. The beer house —
To a foreigner not familiar with the Czech language, the word
To undergo the classic
A foreigner may perhaps doubt the mental effects of
Theoretically, you don’t even need a
Fed up with the drunkards who constantly gathered for beer parties in the main city park, the mayor decided to prohibit consumption of alcoholic beverages in all public places, thus confining the beer-drinkers to local