Jan Opletal - Prague, Czech Republic
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Torgut
N 50° 04.500 E 014° 24.987
33U E 458243 N 5547132
Jan Opletal was a medical student, killed by the Nazis in 1939 while in a demonstration against the occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Waymark Code: WMMHYN
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 09/25/2014
Views: 43
This plaque, on a residential building not far from Karlovo Namesti, in central Prague, marks the place where Opletal used to live. It's a simple plaque, simply saying (in Czech):
Here lived
Kan Opletal
31st December 1915 - 11th November 1939
From Wikipedia:
"Jan Opletal (January 1, 1915 – November 11, 1939) was a student of the Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, who was killed in an anti-Nazi demonstration during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia.
On October 28, 1939 (anniversary of the independence of the Czechoslovak Republic) there were anti-Nazi demonstrations and riots in Prague, which were suppressed by Nazi forces. Jan Opletal was seriously wounded by a shot to his stomach, and later died on November 11. His funeral on November 15, attended by several thousands of students, turned into another anti-Nazi demonstration. As a result, the Reichsprotektor (Nazi-representative in the puppet-state Bohemia and Moravia) Konstantin von Neurath closed all Czech universities and colleges, sent over 1200 students to concentration camps, and had nine students executed (on November 17).
Opletal's remains were transferred into his native village of Náklo in the Olomouc Region, where there is also a monument to him. Many Czech cities have streets named after him.
To commemorate these events, November 17 is marked as International Students Day by the International Union of Students and other groups."
Ironically Opletal played an unexpected role 50 years later. It was to homage him that students from Prague University started a march on 17th November 1989. It was authorized, even organized, by the Communists. However, after reaching the planned destination - Vysehrad - things went out of control and the march evoluted to a demonstration which marked the beginning of the Velvet Revolution.
On the plaque location there are a couple of other plaques, also citizen memorials.
Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link]
Location: Residential building
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