Czech Republic

Day of Remembrance: 27 January 

Historical Background:
On the morning of 27 January, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Altogether, they liberated some 7650 prisoners. During WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.
27 January has been the official date of commemoration in the Czech Republic since 2003.

Czechoslovakia and the Holocaust:
Lexicon entry from Yad Vashem's online Holocaust Resource Center: Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile, Slovakia, Prague

Educational Activities:
According to the Framework Education Programmes developed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, the Holocaust is included in the history course within the Modern Times program. The course covers World War II, the Holocaust, resistance movements, as well as the political and economic consequences of the war. The purpose of this course is for students to gain awareness of the destructive potential of totalitarianism and extreme nationalism.
The Terezin Memorial trains some 200 Czech teachers each year. Seminars on the Holocaust for teachers have been organized by the Terezín Memorial since 2000, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Education and Culture Centre of the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Roma Culture Museum in Brno. The seminars have five stages. The first stage, "How to Teach about the Holocaust" is a three-day seminar providing an overview of the Holocaust, and relevant literature and teaching materials. The second stage is an international seminar called "The Holocaust in Education." This seminar is taught by foreign lecturers, and it demonstrates the educational techniques used in various European countries.
Participants who complete the first two stages go on to the third stage, which is a seminar that includes a visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. In the fourth stage of the seminar participants visit the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. The first Czech teachers seminar at Yad Vashem was held in November 2005.

The Jewish Museum in Prague is involved in Holocaust research and education. The museum has a special Holocaust research department, which is equipped with a library and archives.

Educational Activities on Holocaust Memorial Day:  

The main event commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day in the Czech Republic will be held under the patronage of MUDr. Premysl Sobotka, President of the Senate, in the House of  Senate , in the centre of Prague. The event, to take the form of a meeting is open to invited persons and survivors and will be broadcasted  on television. Information about the event will be published in  national newspapers.  The national television channels will broadcast special programs in honor of Holocaust Memorial Day, while schools will  run special programs about Holocaust.  For the event program in English, in Czech.

Websites and Teaching Aids:
Terezin Memorial- National Cultural Monument: www.pamatnik-terezin.cz
Radio Prague- Czech Teachers learn to teach about the Holocaust: www.radio.cz/en/article/60782
Seminars organized by Terezin Memorial for teachers from the Czech Republic: www.osce.org
The Jewish Museum of the Czech Republic:
www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/asecond.htm