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| Europe |
| Czech Republic: Institute reveals"Prague Spring" Resistance Posters |
| 2007-08-31 |
| Historian Jana Bachová fingers a table-size binder of yellowing posters. Some are scrawled on paper bakery bags, others carefully lettered in tri-colored ink, bearing the stamps of illegal printing presses. Their messages channel a spectrum of emotions, ranging from derogatory anti-Russian slurs and revolutionary slogans to humorist rhymes and sentimental poetry. As a whole, they embody the “colloquial creativity” of a resistant nation, Bachová says. “ItÂ’s an appellation to the people, urging them not to give up, telling them that all will end well.” On Aug. 20, the Military History Institute in Prague revealed the 128 posters, which provide the latest example of the publicÂ’s spontaneous resistance against Warsaw Pact troops following the Aug. 21, 1968, invasion of Czechoslovakia. The event marked the beginning of 20 years of Soviet control. A librarian discovered the collection two years ago hidden within the instituteÂ’s archive of old military maps. According to Bachová, they had been salvaged by an unknown collector on the night of Aug. 26, five days into the occupation. “The posters were found completely by accident during a reorganization of the archives,” Bachová says. “They were stashed away with the maps, where no one thought to poke around for quite some time.” The back of each poster contains a handwritten label indicating the time it was found and the place it was taken from. According to these labels, the posters were gathered at around 2:30 a.m. from the upper part of Wenceslas Square, between the Hvězda arcade and the former House of Fashion (Dům módy). Dodging patrols, the unknown collector retrieved the crumpled, tire-marked banners before they could be destroyed by Soviet soldiers. “IÂ’m sure the occupants would not have been pleased to see what [the collector] was doing,” Bachová says, pointing at a torn sign. “You can tell he was in a hurry.” The identity of the collector remains a mystery. “Nobody has any idea who hid them here,” she says. “It was probably a former employee who had to leave the institute after 1968. ”Chronologically classified by typewritten labels, the collection bears the marks of hasty yet diligent organization. The handwritten additions are taped in the place of torn or missing fragments. “Whoever it was, this person had the skills of a historian or librarian,” Bachová says. While itÂ’s possible that similar posters exist in smaller private collections, Bachová says the size and organization of the Military History InstituteÂ’s assemblage is unique. “ItÂ’s exceptional that these posters survived, and in such a big number,” she says. The posters will be on display at the Military History Museum next year as part of an exhibit commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Soviet occupation. Historians hope the exhibit will reveal the identity of the unknown collector. |
| Posted by:mrp |