Prague Spring Ignored In Post-Communist Society
Forty years ago, Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia and crushed the democratization process known as the Prague Spring.
Today, Prague is a primary stop on the grand European tour. Throughout the year, millions of visitors wander through this jewel of medieval, baroque and art-deco architecture. The central Wenceslas Square — where Soviet troops clashed with citizens in August 1968 — is now lined with elegant shops and pricy restaurants.
But tourists are not likely to find any plaque commemorating the Prague Spring and the generation of 1968, and the brief season of freedom appears distant and irrelevant to young people like Teresa Otava.
"I live this time and I think about nowadays problems, and not very often about the past," Otava says.
In recent weeks, there has been just one tiny exhibit marking the violent end of the movement.
Read entire article at NPR
Today, Prague is a primary stop on the grand European tour. Throughout the year, millions of visitors wander through this jewel of medieval, baroque and art-deco architecture. The central Wenceslas Square — where Soviet troops clashed with citizens in August 1968 — is now lined with elegant shops and pricy restaurants.
But tourists are not likely to find any plaque commemorating the Prague Spring and the generation of 1968, and the brief season of freedom appears distant and irrelevant to young people like Teresa Otava.
"I live this time and I think about nowadays problems, and not very often about the past," Otava says.
In recent weeks, there has been just one tiny exhibit marking the violent end of the movement.