RFE/RL Dedicates Monument To Jewish History At Prague Headquarters

RFE/RL, November 29, 2011

RFE/RL President Steve Korn unveils the Hagibor memorial with Dr. Lindsay Kaplan.

Memorial with "Hagibor" in Hebrew carved into it.

Joined by leaders and members of the Prague Jewish community, U.S. embassy officials, and the Lord Mayor of Prague, RFE/RL President Steve Korn unveiled a monument Tuesday recognizing the historical significance of the Hagibor site on which RFE/RL's broadcast headquarters stands.

From the early 1910s, Hagibor (which comes from the Hebrew word for "hero") was the site of a Jewish retirement home, later doubling as the site of the Hagibor sports club. During the early years of the German occupation of then-Czechoslovakia, it served as one of the few public spaces still open to Jews. But, from 1944-45 Hagibor was the location of a forced-labor camp for people from so-called "mixed marriages" and non-Jewish men who refused to divorce their Jewish wives. For some, the site was a transit point to the Terezin Ghetto in what is now northern Czech Republic.

"My great grandmother was from Prague and my ancestors before her," explained RFE/RL President Steve Korn. “When I was told of the history of Hagibor, I was surprised and disappointed there was no monument.”

The memorial, originally conceived by Mr. Korn and U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, is a piece of Bohemian sandstone with "Hagibor" in Hebrew carved into it. The plaque on the ground below bears the inscription:

"In memory of the Jewish youth who competed on this site; those interned and enslaved here 1944-45; and to all who fight for liberty and human dignity."

The unveiling ceremony included remarks by Holocaust survivor Dr. Dagmar Lieblova of the Terezin Initiative, Chairman of the Jewish Community of Prague František Banyai, and Lord Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda.

"More than seventy years ago, this location was associated with persecution and tyranny," remarked Dr. Lindsay Kaplan, speaking on behalf of U.S. Ambassador Eisen. "Today it hosts an institution dedicated to the proliferation of liberty and democracy."

Dr. Lindsay Kaplan's Remarks

President Korn, employees of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and distinguished guests. My husband, Ambassador Eisen, had very much wanted to be here, but was unexpectedly called back to the United States on a family emergency. Thank you, Steve, for allowing me to deliver a few brief words on his behalf.

As many of you know Norm’s family was profoundly and tragically affected by the Holocaust. His mother, a citizen of the former Czechoslovakia, survived Auschwitz, while his father, a Polish citizen, fled his homeland in 1939.  Both parents lost many dear relatives in the Shoah. After the war his mother returned to Czechoslovakia to live in Karlovy Vary. When the Communists took power in 1948, she and her three surviving siblings emigrated to Israel.  Norm was the first of the family to return here.  When President Obama asked him to come to Prague as ambassador he felt both honored and apprehensive.

While he was gratified at the prospect of serving as the United States’ representative to the Czech Republic, he was concerned about coming to a part of the world that had such a terrible personal resonance.  When we arrived, we knew he had made the right decision. Our time here has been most happy, but it has been punctuated with reminders of sadder times. The very history of house in which we live here in Prague recalls the suffering caused by the occupation. It was built by the Petchek family, Jewish industrialists who fled the country in 1938. During the war the Nazi general staff lived and worked in the house. Some of the furnishings still bear their inventory labels. It is one of those ironies of history that this house is now the home of the son of a Czechoslovak Holocaust survivor and the representative of one of the countries that helped defeat the Nazi menace.  We are meeting here today to take note of another irony.  More than seventy years ago, this location was associated with persecution and tyranny; today it hosts an institution dedicated to the proliferation of liberty and democracy.  

The unprecedentedly long period of liberty that the Czech Republic currently enjoys is due to its irrepressible commitment to political, personal, and market freedoms.  These three interconnected pillars are also the central themes of Norm’s work here as ambassador.  We are grateful to the Czech Republic for the important role President Havel played in ensuring the continued existence of  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, an institution that promotes these very freedoms by providing uncensored news and commentary to people throughout Europe and Asia. The monument we dedicate today stands as reminder of the remarkable advances in freedom the Czech Republic has experienced, but also as an indicator that much remains to be done to extend the blessings of liberty. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is doing its utmost to advance that goal. May they continue in that endeavor as long as they are needed.  Thank you very much.