Saturday morning was the start of a very eventful and interesting day. We started at the Museum of Communism, which I loved. I’m a huge history nerd and learning about the Soviet Union in 9th and 11th grade was one of my favorite things in all of high school.
This leads into today’s topic, Dark Tourism in Prague: Exploring the City’s Haunted History. Prague, or at least the Prague known currently, is a fairly new city. The Velvet Revolution, the fall of the Soviet Union in Czechia, happened in 1989. Unfortunately, with Czechia being such a small country, it’s history isn’t discussed much in American history classes, especially since it wasn’t a major player in WWII or the Soviet Union/communism.
Starting with WWII in 1941, Czechoslovakia was the home of Theresienstadt Ghetto, located in Terezin. The ghetto served as a waystation to the extermination camps, though about 33,000 died in Terezin. Throughout the war, thousands passed through, many ending up at Auschwitz and perishing there.In the wake of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the town of Lidice was completely destroyed and nearly all citizens were murdered. Immediately after the war ended, Czechoslovakia was liberated and about 3,000,000 ethnic Germans were forcefully deported from the country. This also liberated Terezin in 1945.
Before all this happened, however, The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was established in 1921. With the death of Stalin in 1953, a monument was sculptured and unveiled in 1955, only to be destroyed 7 years later.
The Prague Spring in 1968 was a massive turning point in Czechoslovakian history. When Alexander Dubček tried to liberate the country, many Warsaw Pact members and the Soviet Union invaded. In response, Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc self-immolated in Wenceslas Square. After this, normalization began and continued till Gorbachev introduced glasnost and Perestroika in 1986. The fall of communism in Czechoslovakia began when Gorbachev visited in 1987, and with the Velvet Revolution, communism in Czechoslovakia ended in 1989. In 1992, Czechoslovakia separated into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
So, with a brief history of the darkness in Czechia, one can see how important it is to know what the country suffered in the span of about 50 years.
As I walked through Terezin, I kept thinking about how recent all this was. I think I sometimes forget that the Holocaust and WWII happened less than 100 years ago, which is quite horrifying to think about. The fact that people still have the same views that Hitler and the Nazis had is awful, especially similar thoughts seem to be entering the US political system.
Also in Terezin, as we walked from room to room, I couldn’t help but think about the fear and terror the people trapped there must’ve felt. In Prague, you wouldn’t be able to tell that there was a revolution just 35 years ago. Prague is now one of the top cities to visit, not only due to its history and activities it offers, but also due to safety. Ranked at the top of many lists, it’s one of the safest places in the world, and is actually recommended to solo travelers.
Knowing all this just makes the history more haunting. A key part of why I’m on this trip is due to the dark tourism and history. Czechia is a very well-preserved country, as it was a more neutral country in wars and was used more as a crossing point rather than a central location. I think this is also why the top attraction is Prague Castle.
Overall, I truly enjoyed the day and learning about the modern history of the country. The food tour we did was also interesting, as we learned why certain foods exist and how restaurants blend modern and traditional Czech cuisine.