Together with the Purple class we have prepared for you a bilingual “Montessori” story which
commemorates the upcoming national holiday. The holiday is a commemoration of the events of
November 17th, 1989 and is called “Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day“. The major part in
our story is played by freedom. And also by this … wooden stick (point to a stick). And so please come
and join us on our trip to the past. Once upon a time, seriously as well as with a flash of humor…
Wood-stick Story (how the Czechs were gaining and losing their freedom)
At the beginning there was a Light… or some actually say there was a Big Bang with which all things
came into being – including our Sun, the planet Earth with its trees and - its humans (light up a
candle – the Sun).
First, we want to ask you to join us and sing with us the song “November” which will help us to go
back in time to “those” days in November when leaves are falling off the trees, days are getting
shorter and colder, the sky is full of flying kites and children bake potatoes in the fire.
Song “ NOVEMBER” (all)
I. (4 children sit around the candle, warm their hands over the fire and eat something)
Autumn – 40,000 years ago (Note: Late Stone Age - Upper Paleolithic, Homo habilis – “handy man”),
somewhere in Moravia
(the scene: 4 early humans sit by the fire warming their hands or eating something, when all of a
sudden – out of the dark - an “intruder” shows up, knocks one of them down with a wooden stick
and drags him away to captivity; others are taken by surprise)
Women - mothers had an important role in the tribe at this time – so maybe this was the early way
how prehistoric men “proposed marriage” to women. Let’s move forward in time now to see what it
was like when the first Czechs arrived to our territory.
It is the 6th century, and somewhere in the Charvatian land 4 elders take a rest by the fire, brothers
and leaders of the Slavic tribes. Their names are Czech, Lech, Rus and Kyi. In the land, where they used
to live, numerous horrible battles had started and so it had become uninhabitable for the Slavic
people who were used to living in peace, working on their land and growing crops.
II.
Č.: “It’s hot in here!”
L.: „What??“
R.: „ You know, dear brother Czech, that our brother Lech is a little hard of hearing, don’t you?“
Č: „I’m just sayin’, that these invaders from the East are really giving us hell!” (Čech in louder voice)
L: „You’re right, my dear brother Czech.“
R.: „Well, there’s no other way, we have to move somewhere else. You, brother Czech, will go with
brother Lech to the West. And I with brother Kyi will go to the East.
K.: „So let’s go! I’ll just take my club, and off we go!”
L.: „Let’s wait till the morning comes. Then we can set off.”
And so Czech and Lech walked and walked with their people and at dawn they arrived to a place
from which they could see a bell-shaped hill far in a distance. Czech pointed to the hill and said:
Č.: “Lech, can you see that hill which looks like a “mashroom” (in Czech “hřib”)?
L.: „What? a Řip?“
Č.: „We’ll go there and take a look around the country”.
And so they climbed up the hill and Czech said:
Č.: „My feet are killing me…. err, I mean – this is the Promised Land, abundant in animals and birds,
flowing with honey; it just hasn’t got a name yet. Think of a name this country should be given…”
Well, we guess you know what name they chose…
Lech, who was somewhat deaf, couldn’t hear what his brother Czech was saying, and so he kept
walking and he walked up the North until he reached a land today known as Poland and there he
settled down.
The land where the brothers Kyi and Rus settled down became known as Kievan Rus and much later
as the USSR (the Soviet Union). People stopped calling each other “brother” and started to call each
other “comrade”. The capital was not Kiev, but Moscow. People were not organized in tribes any
more, but some of them got organized in one party – the Communist Party.
III.
K.1: So, my dear comrades, the Czechs long for freedom and democracy. They have chosen this
leader – what’s his name? It sounds like a little tree…”
K.2: „Dubček (=little oak). Apparently, this guy wants to carry out some new reforms “.
K.1: „I’ll give them Dubčeks! Troops I’ll send in!
And while in the U.S. the Woodstock festival took place in a year and a day – a festival celebrating
love, peace and understanding – in former Czechoslovakia a bright period of promising reforms which we call Prague Spring - was coming to an end. It was not spring, nor autumn, but the summer
of 1968, on August 21st, when Prague and other parts of Czechoslovakia were invaded not by wooden
sticks this time, but by tanks. And Czechs and Slovaks sure don’t like it. At that time, the song “Little
Brother, Close the Gate” by the folk singer-songwriter Karel Kryl was recorded on a plate (not a
wooden one, but a vinyl one of course).
(part of the song)
At this time, quartz stone was not used to make a fire anymore, the light was transferred into little
glass bulbs and the stick became so small that it looked like a small Roman numeral I and was put
into watches. Then first electronic watch was made and later a digital one and “the digital era” was
about to start. And there go the 80’s of the last century.
IV.
M.: „Dear, what if we go to the western sea this year?
T.: „We can’t, my dear, they won’t let us cross the western borders. But I’ve managed to get a new
PC game from Western Germany. So we can play together… “
(they play the “Tennis” game and other 3 children move with 2 poles between which a tennis ball
moves there and back)
Then November 17th, 1989 came. That morning was not special in any way. But already around noon,
15,000 students gathered at Albertov in Prague. Above their heads they carried banners which
expressed their opinions of the current situation: Who – if not us? When – if not now?; Free republic
in free Europe!; etc.
V.
(4 children around the fire put on plastic face shields and lit up 3 candles on a tray)
That evening, viewers of the Czechoslovakian television learnt in the News that the Public Security
had had to disperse another demonstration and restore order at Národní třída. Those who were
listening to western radios’ broadcast, however, knew more… that physical violence had been used
against young people.
Young people were holding sticks in their hands and yelling: “We have sticks in our hands”… Sorry,
that’s a mistake (sticks go into hands of those with shields). Young people carried no weapons and
yelled: “We have bare hands!”
The so-called Velvet Revolution lasted until the end of the year. The revolution is called like this for
its non-violent character, as no violence was used and there were no riots during the takeover. Thus,
except for the events of Nov 17th, when the students were attacked by the Public Security, the
revolution was non-violent and during the takeover no one was killed.
The Velvet Revolution marked the beginning of political changes in Czechoslovakia which led to the
fall of the communist regime and to transition to democracy. At that time, people were singing the
song “Náměšť”, which you already know. So let’s sing together.
(all sing and 12 „students“ take 12 candles and stand in front of the armed squad)
(after the song, they create a circle out of the 12 candles– like the stars on the EU flag)
At the end of the year 1992, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and split into Czech Republic and
Slovakia.
The 21st century started and the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union in 2004.
And yet, the everyday struggle of the young republic and its citizens with the challenges that
democracy brings continues and sometimes we all must stand up to further (even if smaller) threats
to our freedom…
This is the end of our story. Some things have been made up (e.g. Lech was not deaf, and because it
is just a legend, he might have not existed at all). But much of it is based on facts. The story offers a
lot for further self-study. And you can also ask your parents to tell you more about the events of Nov
17th.
We thank you all for your attention and we wish you a beautiful weekend at which the Sunday marks
the commemoration of the “Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day“.