Although everything seemed to be running smoothly there was one problem that needed to be solved in Prague. In those days May Day parades traditionally headed to the bottom of Wenceslas square to the platform with politicians waving to marchers.
May Day parades like this were always formed according to particular factories and other workplaces, with Vinohrady being the traditional meeting point.
But the problem of May Day parade in 1968 was the underpass at the Wenceslas square. It was still under construction so the marchers would have to go through the construction site. To avoid this, the platform was moved to the Na Prikope Street, close to the Powder tower. The platform was low enough for marchers to hold hands with those standing on it.
People who wanted to participate in the parade were meeting in Republika square, in the streets around and on Vltava’s embankment. And unlike in the past years when marchers wanted to deal with the whole thing as fast as possible this year people actually waited long hours for the chance to pass the platform.
The parade started with the already untraditional opening. Politicians were not waiting for the parade on the platform but they formed the first row themselves. Among others it was President Ludvik Svoboda, first secretary of the Communist party Alexander Dubcek, Frantisek Kriegel – the only one of the political leaders kidnapped to Moscow during the Warsaw pact invasion who declined to sign the Moscow Protocol or at this time the not very well known Gustav Husak
According to the contemporary data, the Prague May Day parade of 1968 lasted more than 5 hours with more than half a million participants. There was lot of young people among participants, long inactive movements such as Junak (boy scouts) or Sokol (gymnastic organization) or organizations brand new such as KAN (the Club of committed independents).
Another untraditional thing was the often held portrait of T.G.Masaryk, participating Prague hippies or slogans so different from slogans from both past and future years.
The best picture of the parade and its later evaluation can be made from the fragments from official documents and memoirs.
May Day Like This Hasn’t Occurred Here yet and Won’t in the Future
Something never seen before – leading politicians didn’t avoid people on the May Day 1968 but were marching in the parade alongside. The picture by J.Thereby depicts politicians in the Na Prikope Street. From the left: G.Husak, L.Svoboda, A.Dubcek and
May Day 1968. Witnesses still recall the day. It was the year of a very untraditional celebration of May 1. It was not, for the first time, organized by the Communist party but by people themselves. And for the first time the structure of the parade was not understood as manifestation of the power of one social class over the other but as an all-society demonstration of support to the proceeding political liberalization. For the first and last time no-one was forced to attend, May Day marchers participated voluntarily and gladly. And the May Day parade in Prague was the best example of them all.
Articles within the field
Celkový počet: 4
-
12. 5. 2008
Directed by right-wing opportunists
It is clear that May Day celebrations the way they took place in Prague and several other bigger cities including Bratislava, frightened the orthodox communists. Unlike immediate critics who were not too strict more extreme ones let it all hang out. Vasil Bilak wrote the following in his memoirs:
-
12. 5. 2008
Something between “Sibrinky” and Brazil carnival
The famous humorist Miroslav Svandrlik described the May Day in Prague in his book “We still have what we wanted”:
- 12. 5. 2008 People like Novotny should stay home!
- 12. 5. 2008 The sight of Prague hippies was not pleasant but…
Celkový počet: 4
Responsibility:: Editorial Office