Memory of the Nation on Stalin
About the Exhibition
We took the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia as an opportunity to look into the Memory of the Nation. We selected periods and events that fundamentally shaped the modern history of this nation. We work with subjective memories.
Given the current upheavals of democratic principles and respect for human rights, we consider it necessary to remind ourselves that civil liberty is not taken for granted. Therefore, we decided to focus the exhibition on totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia during the period of 1939-1989 and the struggle against it. The former memorial to the dictator J. V. Stalin is a suitable place for this. It symbolizes humiliation and slavery during communism and serves as a reminder of freedom redeemed by the sacrifices of thousands of people. The less-known inaccessible underground spaces - a concrete column hall where boulders from the demolished statue remain hidden to this day.
The exhibition consists of four parts: Images, Testimonies, Steles, and Wall. We present stories from the Memory of the Nation collection.
In the underground, you will find two sections with nine chapters each. Both sections complement each other. Images (right entrance) and Testimonies (left entrance) address similar themes but employ different forms. In Images, we always select one historical moment and allow it to resonate. In Testimonies, personalities speak about the time when this moment occurred.
The outdoor Steles on the lower terrace connect Testimonies and Images and provide a factual approximation of the events processed. In the park, they tell the stories of eyewitnesses.
The Wall is a symbol of censorship, unfreedom, and the violent division of the world.
Memory of the Nation
In 2001, a group of journalists and historians founded the non-profit organization Post Bellum. They realized how essential it is to document the memories of people who lived through World War II and communism. Today, the collection they named Memory of the Nation contains about seven thousand unique stories.
Architectural Solution
The exhibition is designed as a family of three linear objects, each addressing the view in a specific form. Two objects allow the view, while one blocks it. The object of the Testimonies exhibition provides a panoramic view for a group of visitors looking in one direction. The object of the Images exhibition allows a limited number of selected visitors a 270° field of view. Finally, the Wall object completely obstructs the view for a large crowd. All three objects are articulated as abstract bodies, their constructions hidden so as not to compete with the memorial. They all work with extreme dimensions and feelings of constriction and discomfort, evoking the minimal spaces of concentration camps and prison solitary confinement.
Images Exhibition
In the Images exhibition, we focused on the experience of moments rather than a historical interpretation. We chose the form of an audiovisual animated installation that works more with imagination and symbolism. We utilize 3D video mapping and spatial sound.
Images: A gathering of Nazis in Wenceslas Square in March 1939, an aerial dogfight in the Battle of Britain in 1940, the transport of Jews from Bubny railway station in 1941, the fight of paratroopers in the crypt of St. Cyril and Methodius in 1942, the end of World War II in Prague, brutality in a communist prison in Borek, the battle for radio on Vinohradská Street in 1968, an interrogation by the StB in Bartolomějská during normalization, and demonstrations in Letenská Plain in November 1989.
Testimonies Exhibition
In the Testimonies exhibition, personalities from the Memory of the Nation collection speak in spatial projection, providing accounts of the times in which they lived or events to which they were witnesses or direct participants. The aim is to offer viewers various memories, opinions, and perspectives on the events of the 20th century. You will hear testimonies from war veterans, political prisoners, and dissidents, as well as perspectives from communists, members of State Security, and informants.
Testimonies of eyewitnesses: World War II - the occupation of Czechoslovakia, domestic and foreign resistance, the Holocaust, the Prague Uprising, the post-war period. The rise of communism and the 1950s, the invasion of Soviet troops in 1968, normalization, the Velvet Revolution.
We took the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia as an opportunity to look into the Memory of the Nation. We selected periods and events that fundamentally shaped the modern history of this nation. We work with subjective memories.
Given the current upheavals of democratic principles and respect for human rights, we consider it necessary to remind ourselves that civil liberty is not taken for granted. Therefore, we decided to focus the exhibition on totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia during the period of 1939-1989 and the struggle against it. The former memorial to the dictator J. V. Stalin is a suitable place for this. It symbolizes humiliation and slavery during communism and serves as a reminder of freedom redeemed by the sacrifices of thousands of people. The less-known inaccessible underground spaces - a concrete column hall where boulders from the demolished statue remain hidden to this day.
The exhibition consists of four parts: Images, Testimonies, Steles, and Wall. We present stories from the Memory of the Nation collection.
In the underground, you will find two sections with nine chapters each. Both sections complement each other. Images (right entrance) and Testimonies (left entrance) address similar themes but employ different forms. In Images, we always select one historical moment and allow it to resonate. In Testimonies, personalities speak about the time when this moment occurred.
The outdoor Steles on the lower terrace connect Testimonies and Images and provide a factual approximation of the events processed. In the park, they tell the stories of eyewitnesses.
The Wall is a symbol of censorship, unfreedom, and the violent division of the world.
Memory of the Nation
In 2001, a group of journalists and historians founded the non-profit organization Post Bellum. They realized how essential it is to document the memories of people who lived through World War II and communism. Today, the collection they named Memory of the Nation contains about seven thousand unique stories.
Architectural Solution
The exhibition is designed as a family of three linear objects, each addressing the view in a specific form. Two objects allow the view, while one blocks it. The object of the Testimonies exhibition provides a panoramic view for a group of visitors looking in one direction. The object of the Images exhibition allows a limited number of selected visitors a 270° field of view. Finally, the Wall object completely obstructs the view for a large crowd. All three objects are articulated as abstract bodies, their constructions hidden so as not to compete with the memorial. They all work with extreme dimensions and feelings of constriction and discomfort, evoking the minimal spaces of concentration camps and prison solitary confinement.
Images Exhibition
In the Images exhibition, we focused on the experience of moments rather than a historical interpretation. We chose the form of an audiovisual animated installation that works more with imagination and symbolism. We utilize 3D video mapping and spatial sound.
Images: A gathering of Nazis in Wenceslas Square in March 1939, an aerial dogfight in the Battle of Britain in 1940, the transport of Jews from Bubny railway station in 1941, the fight of paratroopers in the crypt of St. Cyril and Methodius in 1942, the end of World War II in Prague, brutality in a communist prison in Borek, the battle for radio on Vinohradská Street in 1968, an interrogation by the StB in Bartolomějská during normalization, and demonstrations in Letenská Plain in November 1989.
Testimonies Exhibition
In the Testimonies exhibition, personalities from the Memory of the Nation collection speak in spatial projection, providing accounts of the times in which they lived or events to which they were witnesses or direct participants. The aim is to offer viewers various memories, opinions, and perspectives on the events of the 20th century. You will hear testimonies from war veterans, political prisoners, and dissidents, as well as perspectives from communists, members of State Security, and informants.
Testimonies of eyewitnesses: World War II - the occupation of Czechoslovakia, domestic and foreign resistance, the Holocaust, the Prague Uprising, the post-war period. The rise of communism and the 1950s, the invasion of Soviet troops in 1968, normalization, the Velvet Revolution.
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