Czech Officials Remember Student Jan Palach’s Death on Commemoration Anniversary.

Hans Weber
January 17, 2023

The Czech Republic commemorated the 54th anniversary of Jan Palach’s self-immolation today. Palach, a 20-year-old university student, set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square on January 16, 1969, in protest of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia the previous year.

He died from his injuries three days later. During a ceremony in honor of Palach, lower house chair Marketa Pekarova Adamova (TOP 09) said his sacrifice contributed to the fall of totalitarianism and to the current life of Czechs in freedom and democracy.

Flowers and candles were laid in Wenceslas Square at the spot where a wooden cross on the pavement commemorates Palach’s act of resistance. January 16 has been a significant day in the Czech Republic since 2014.

Article by Prague Forum

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