17 November: Students’ Day and a commemoration of the victims of the struggle for freedom
We commemorate 17 November as the Day of the Struggle for
Freedom and Democracy and International Students’ Day. It is linked to two
milestones in Czechoslovak history: the pivotal years of 1939 and 1989.
Kounic dormitories
Following demonstrations against the Nazi occupation and the funeral of medical student Jan Opletal, the occupying authorities cracked down on Czech universities in 1939. On the night of 17 November, students were arrested, nine leaders of the student movement were executed without trial, and more than a thousand students were deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Czech universities were closed. Among them was the Czech Technical University in Brno, now known as the Brno University of Technology. Two years later, 17 November was declared International Students’ Day in London.
In Brno, the Kounic dormitories serve as a direct reminder of this history. The Gestapo occupied the student halls of residence on 17 November 1939 and later turned them into a prison through which thousands of people passed; executions were carried out in its courtyard under martial law. Today, the Kounic dormitories are a national cultural monument, and the memorial located on the halls’ grounds is open to the public.
17 November 1989 once again linked students with the struggle for freedom. The peaceful demonstration in Prague and its violent suppression provided the impetus for the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
At the Faculty of Architecture, we commemorate 17 November as the day on which students and their teachers paid the ultimate price for freedom. The freedom to learn, to research and to create cannot be taken for granted. It is a privilege that we have inherited and for which we bear responsibility.
| Inserted by: | Rychnovská Anna Mgr. |
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