Identify a plaque in Prague Vyšehrad cemetery

Identify a plaque in Prague Vyšehrad cemetery - Gray Concrete Angel Statue Near Purple Flowers

Ok, this is pretty strange, I know; I was thinking to post it on History.se, but maybe it can fit here, too, as I saw it while traveling and it was in a "famous" cemetery (...I'm not the kind of tourist for cemetery visiting, this one just happened as I stumbled on it...)

Location: Prague, Vyšehrad cemetery. I noticed the following inscription, and it struck me as something really different because:

  • the shape
  • the position (in an isolated corner with a "special" path to reach it)
  • there is written Komunismu (did they buried communism here?)

I searched for information on Google, but everything I've been able to found was in čeština, and I'm not able to read it a single word of it. But still it shows it is some kind of touristic landmark, so I'm not that off topic after all :-D

Here is the photo. Sorry for the low quality:



Best Answer

Action K is the name for the project of illegal elimination of monasteries and male catholic monastic orders that took place in the communist Czechoslovakia in April 1950. It was preceded by the staged trial of Machalka et al. involving order superiors, intended to provide ideological justification for the general public. 219 monastic houses were closed down and 2376 monks were interned during the action in Czechoslovakia. Movable and immovable property of orders was confiscated (though for real properties, this formally happened only later). The action resulted in a huge loss of cultural heritage as several monasteries started to fall into disrepair and others were intentionally destroyed; a lot of valuable printings disappeared and movable properties were misappropriated, for example an ancient furniture and so on. Soon after Action K, Action R followed. Action R was slower and it was aimed against nunneries. The last one, Action B was meant to formally eliminate all orders, but in did not materialize to a large extent. The first night when the monasteries were attacked and closed down has been nicknamed ‘St. Bartholomew’s Day of Monks’.

http://www.mistapametinaroda.cz/?lc=cs&id=217&ls=en

  1. – 14. 4. 1950 – "Action K" – forceful concentration of Czech monks, List of witnesses: http://www.pametnaroda.cz/anniversary/detail/id/42?locale=en_GB



Pictures about "Identify a plaque in Prague Vyšehrad cemetery"

Identify a plaque in Prague Vyšehrad cemetery - People Walking on the Street
Identify a plaque in Prague Vyšehrad cemetery - Green Grass Field With Green Trees
Identify a plaque in Prague Vyšehrad cemetery - Aerial View of Burial Ground





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Images: Markus Winkler, Helena Jankovičová Kováčová, John Nail, Tom Fisk