“This monitor is the source of the dispute between the Czechs and the Germans,” said Peter Kura, pointing to the pictures of the speakers and the bushy beards of Congressmen, because they were popular before the First World War. . They debated in the Bohemian State Assembly of the former Habsburg Empire. Koura is the director of the Collegium Bohemicum Institute in Ustí nad Labem (Australia).He will become President of the Federal Republic on Friday Frank-Walter Steinmeier Preview of the upcoming permanent exhibition in the Czech city on the Elbe River, titled “Our Germans / Naši Němci”.
For Steinmeier, this is the second part of the historical political agenda he set for a three-day trip to the Czech Republic.The political plan includes discussions with the host and the president Milos Zeman, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (Andrej Babiš), the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament, entrepreneurs and members of civil society. Steinmeier’s conclusion: The relationship is very good and stable. You can talk about the subtle differences. Zeman did this very publicly in the “Green New Deal,” and he was skeptical.
Czechs want faster rail connections
One can fake Teinmeier talked about immigration issues and doubts about Europe. On the other hand, Czechs are particularly troubled by inadequate infrastructure, such as the inconvenient rail link between Prague and Munich. Steinmeier recorded that Berlin-Prague worked better when he traveled by train, which is a fuss. Many interlocutors, especially those from commuting areas, will report to the German head of state their shock when they suddenly closed the border during the pandemic.
Perhaps the most important gesture of Steinmeier was to present a wreath in a place where he had never seen a German politician before. This is a monument to the Czech resistance fighters who assassinated Hitler’s governor Reinhard Heydrich on May 27, 1942. He died a few days later.The seven fighters parachuted from a British plane and were sheltered by the locals. Afterwards, they were in the Orthodox Church. church Cyril and Method are hiding. The Gestapo began treason. After several hours of fighting, all the assassins were killed. A wave of revenge destroyed the entire village and nearly a hundred supporters were killed by the Nazis. You will be remembered in the churches of Prague.
The Czechs and Slovaks struggled with this incident for a long time, because the assassins started in Britain, and the post-war communist regime would rather not mention it. Therefore, self-knowledge is first of all as Hitler’s victim. The fact that the Czech resistance exists is only a growing awareness. The fact that Steinmeier is now paying tribute to the Heydrich Assassin has also been highly praised in newspaper reviews.
Germans are not just “Nazis”
Steinmeier did not mention in Prague that the Germans in Bohemia and Moravia were also victims of murder and deportation after the war. He may worry that this will be seen as some kind of offset. After all, his visit to Osger, one of the worst German massacres on July 31, 1945, was a sign of development in this direction. The fact that the exhibition he visited is about to be completed is important to the Czech Republic, but it is by no means a natural step. It shows that the three million people who came to be known as “Sudeten Germans” were not just “Nazis” but neighbors with a thousand years of settlement history.
Of course, conflicts between the Germans and the Czechs were not excluded, such as the nationalism of the nineteenth century and the favor of Hitler by the Sudeten German Henlein Party. A manuscript signed by František Kafka is reminiscent of a common culture—and the contributions of many fellow Jewish people. Evictions are recorded in the items left, such as in suitcases, where only a few items are allowed to be taken. Of course there are critics, Director Kula said. “Nationalists and communists don’t like this exhibition.” But they are now a minority.
