Descending the historic Old Castle Stairs on the way from Prague Castle to the left bank of the Vltava River, an unusual structure will catch your eye in the middle of a small park between the river and a busy road.
The five-and-a-half-metre tall wooden watchtower looks strangely out of place among the 19th-century urban architecture. It is an exact replica of a watchtower from a communist-era labour camp near the town of P?íbram southwest of Prague.
As a symbol of the oppression of the communist regime, the watchtower is part of an extensive outdoor exhibition titled “We Did Not Give It Up/Stories of the 20th Century” which has just opened in Prague to mark the twentieth anniversary of the fall of communism.
The exhibition is dedicated to individuals who did not give in. It tells the stories of three generations of people who were ready to stand up to Nazism and communism, to fight injustice and make personal sacrifices. From war veterans, to resistance fighters, to prisoners jailed by both totalitarian regimes, to dissidents and students who witnessed the fall of communism twenty years ago.
Eleven steps
The open-air exhibition has eleven steps in the centre of the city of Prague. The trip starts at Prague Castle in front of the main entrance. There is an exhibition devoted to the period of the Second World War. There you can see a deportation wagon. After that you can go down to the centre to Klárov, that is next to the Vltava River. There you will find an exhibition devoted to the 1950s with a part of a wall of a communist labour camp. Afterwards you can walk towards Wenceslas Square. Wenceslas Square was the site of many demonstrations. Heavy technical equipment was used there by the police against people who were demonstrating there.
The exhibition will be on display in the streets of Prague until November 23rd.
