2024-03-28 14:33:58
It is exactly 55 years since the crowds poured into the streets of many cities in Czechoslovakia. On March 28, 1969, people celebrated “hockey revenge” for the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. People took the defeat of the Soviet team at the World Cup in Stockholm as a symbol of resistance. The photo gallery shows how these events were captured by prominent photographers Miloň Novotný, Emil Fafek and Miroslav Hucek.
The first gatherings and celebrations in the streets took place on the evening of March 21, when the Czechoslovak representatives defeated the “Russians” for the first time (2:0 at that time). However, the main excitement broke out after the second victory over the Soviet team, achieved on March 28. The second win over the Soviet Union was an absolute sensation. After a dramatic match, the Czechoslovaks won 4:3.
“The celebrations of the second triumph reached the whole country and, according to estimates, up to half a million people took part in them. They chanted the result of the match and proclaimed glory to the hockey players. They were not afraid to show defiance towards the occupiers – from various rhymes to the decoration of the facades of individual buildings. It was the last more or less tolerated act of defiance, ” states historian Jan Šach on the website of the Military Historical Institute.
Emil Fafko’s picture from March 28, 1969 shows the celebrations in the streets of Prague after the Czechoslovak hockey players’ victory over the Soviet Union team. | Photo: Emil Fafek
The biggest celebrations and expressions of dissatisfaction with the occupation took place on March 28 in the streets of Prague. Up to one hundred and fifty thousand people gathered at Wenceslas Square around ten o’clock in the evening. “They shouted slogans, carried flags, sang the national anthem and cars drove by with horns. At that time, the gathered were already being monitored by a group of members of the State Security,” says Šach.
Paving blocks in the interpretation and shooting
Part of the crowd then tried to break into the Soviet embassy. Another few thousand people gathered in front of the office of the Soviet Aeroflot, through the window of which several cobblestones flew. Some historical sources state that this violent behavior of the crowd was started by targeted provocations, which were behind the members of the communist StB.
However, celebrations and protests also took place in many other cities of Czechoslovakia, for example in Ústí nad Labem. There, at half past eleven in the evening, approximately five thousand people gathered in front of the building of the local headquarters of the Soviet troops. “They celebrated the victory and chanted the result of the match. At the same time, several window panes were dented by the onslaught of bodies. In this situation, two Soviet soldiers tried to calm the crowd by shooting in the air. This ill-advised action provoked a completely opposite reaction. A shower of stones fell on the headquarters building and they were set on fire in front of Soviet cars and three motorcycles standing by the building,” says historian Jan Šach.
The Czechoslovak national team sensationally won 4:3 over the Soviet Union. The author of the film is Emil Fafek. | Photo: Emil Fafek
The Czechoslovak national team at the World Championship in Stockholm 1969 finished third. But as hockey player Richard Farda recalled, “beating the Russians was more important than the overall ranking”. “It doesn’t matter that there is no gold, those two Fridays were worth it,” people rejoiced at the time, and these words were carried above their heads during celebrations and on one of the banners of the time.
We thank the photographer and curator Dana Kyndrová for providing the images.