This August 21 marks the anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia decided by Moscow in 1968 to crush the Prague Spring and the democratization movement. In memory of this national trauma, the Czechs decided to donate money to contribute to the Ukrainian war effort against the Russian invasion.
With our correspondent in Prague, Alexis Rosenzweig
1968 Czech crowns (CZK), the equivalent of 80 euros: this is the sum that many Czechs have decided to donate symbolically to the collection organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in Prague in order to buy military equipment for the Ukrainian army. This collection has already raised several tens of millions of euros since the end of February.
” Even during the weekend, dozens and dozens of transfers of 1968 crowns were made “, said the Ukrainian embassy on social networks. 1968, like that cursed year for the Czechs and Slovaks, when, on August 21, the armies of the Warsaw Pact crushed the famous Prague Spring and meant a military occupation that did not end until more than 20 years later , after the departure of the last Soviet soldier in 1991.
Proximity to conflicts
A concert titled NeverMore 68 (“ Never again 68 » in French) is organized this Sunday evening in Prague with Brunettes Shoot Blondes, a Ukrainian rock band among the headliners. In a joint video speech, the heads of the Czech and Slovak governments, Petr Fiala and Eduard Heger, affirmed that this common history and the proximity of the conflict and the suffering of civilians justified active support for Ukraine and the Ukrainians.
Přestože se Česko a Slovensko rozdělily už před devětadvaceti lety a nyní fungují jako dvě samostatné země, bohatá společná historie nás stále spojuje.
To se týká i vzpomínky na 21. srpen 1968. K výročí jsme pro vás natočili s @eduardheger video. Podívejte se na něj, prosím. pic.twitter.com/Z7XVjBRqso
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) August 21, 2022
►Read on RFI Savoirs: The Prague Spring