Milada Horáková and 'uncollective' guilt

29.06.2020 - EB

Right after WWII, the U.S. launched a campaign for blaming every German for the atrocities. Posters declared: "The Nazi criminals tortured, carried away and murdered millions of Europeans. Men, women and children were hunted and tortured to death by Hitler's brutish henchmen simply because they were Jews, Czechs, Russians, Poles or French. You quietly watched and tolerated it." The Czechs adopted this idea of collective guilt to expel the Germans. Communists came to power two years later, but Czechs don't accept collective guilt for their behavior. Other Czechs did not "quietly watch and tolerate it." Instead, the recent campaign to remember Milada Horáková was designed to put the guilt for her murder on today's KSČM and its partners. For those who missed the message, Mikuláš Kroupa stated it on Czech TV: "It's rather unpleasant for us to stand side by side politicians who collaborate with Communists and who allow themselves to be extorted by them. It shows disrespect for people who fought against the Communists." In other words, ANO and ČSSD share the guilt for the atrocities of the 1950s.

Glossary of difficult words


uncollective - (not a standard word) not collective;

atrocity - an extremely wicked or cruel act, typically one involving physical violence or injury;

henchman - a faithful follower or political supporter, esp. one prepared to engage in crime or violence by way of service.



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