UHK Students Keep a Vigil in Memory of Jan Palach
Author: Jakub Novák, Dominik Šípoš
Over 200 people met at the Large Square in Hradec Králové on Friday, January 25, 2019, before the building of the former town council hall in remembrance of the fifty-year anniversary of the ultimate sacrifice of Jan Palach and of his funeral in 1969. It was in January 1969 when the students of the Pedagogical Faculty (UHK) and the Medical Faculty in Hradec Králové organized a public commemoration ceremony for Jan Palach. On January 25, 2019, all university students from UHK met again to recreate the funeral ceremony and march from Hradec Králové.
“I am proud that our students organized the ceremony in reminiscence of the 50th anniversary of Jan Palach’s martyrdom and called into actions other universities to commemorate this fundamental milestone of our recent history. We need to remind ourselves of the legacy of Jan Palach, his predecessors and successors, and I am firmly convinced that every student in the Czech Republic should be aware of Jan Palach’s sacrifice in his fight against totalitarianism,” the Rector of UHK Kamil Kuča said at the close of the ceremony.
The march started at Large Square, continued by a walk around Adalbertinum, the Museum of East Bohemia, and across Tyrš Bridge, and ended at Masaryk Square, where the representatives of the institutions of higher education based in Hradec Králové, the representatives of student unions and other visitors laid wreaths and lighted up candles before the framed photograph of Jan Palach, as did the 2000 courageous citizens in Hradec Králové back in 1969.
Jan Sklenář, an actor at Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové, recited an excerpt from Máj, a dramatic poem by the Czech romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha, in a reminder of Miroslav Zounar’s recitation from 50 years ago. Unlike in the original ceremony in 1969, Jan Sklenář could also recite the poem Jan Zajíc devoted to Jan Palach before committing suicide by self-immolation to support Jan Palach’s political protest. In conclusion, a moment of silence was held by all present, followed by the singing of the Czechoslovak national anthem. The afternoon program was concluded by a discussion between students and Jarmila Stibicová, a dissident and signatory of Charter 77, who was condemned to prison in 1969 for the distribution of leaflets at the anniversary of the 1968 Soviet invasion and who participated in occupation protests.
The initiative of Hradec Králové students across educational institutions was also supported by the City of Hradec Králové and the Hradec Králové Region, represented by the Mayor Alexandr Hrabálek and the Regional Governor Jiří Štěpán.
The ceremonial march was covered by several news venues, such as Seznam Zprávy or Česká televize.
