November 10, an organization with the name Mladí Národní Demokraté (Young
National Democrats) called for a demonstration against the presence of Czech
troops in Iraq, right through the former Jewish Quarter of Prague. The Prague
magistrate had banned the demonstration because its official motto was a false
front and its purpose was to „incite racial hatred“.
All the facts support this assessment: the person who registered the
demonstration is Erik Sedlacek, a well-known member of Národni Odpor (National
Resistance). The organization Mladí Národní Demokraté didn't exist at the
time of the registration and the name is fictitious. Clearly, the date and
location were picked in allusion to the Night of Broken Glass (November
9–10, 1938).
The ban was lifted by the Prague city court due to procedural errors, but the
demonstration was prohibited again by the magistrate. Nonetheless, the Nazis
continued with their mobilization (also in Germany, especially in the periphery
of the so called „free nationalists“ in Saxony and Thuringia).
A Nazi bus from Annaberg-Buchholz in Saxony had crossed the border on
Saturday morning without any serious problems. The police had closed off the
entire Jewish Quarter so there were very few chances to reach the Nazis, who
were gathering despite the ban – on the other hand they had no possibility to
get anyway near the synagogues.
About 25 Nazis ended up in front of a demonstration of over
800 antifascists, but they were convinced with punchy arguments that they
were in the wrong place. According to police figures, there were around
400 Nazis in total. Our demonstration went through the Prague city center,
protesting loudly and snatching Nazis who went past, until it was brutally
dissolved by the police. There were 396 arrests – apparently, only
30 of them were leftists, the rest Nazis – and on this day it was
possible to actively block the Nazi demonstration.
The independent youth organization REVOLUTION was part of a big alliance,
„The Left Against Antisemitism“, which in the end joined the
demonstration organized by the anarchists and at times was at the front
defending the demonstration against police attacks.
All and all, it was a very successful day and despite the bad weather
thousands of people followed the call of the Zidovská Liberálni Unie (Jewish
Liberal Union) to block the entire Jewish Quater. The antifascist demonstration
was the biggest for more than ten years in the Czech Republic and it creates
hope for a movement that seemed to have fallen into stagnation. Special thanks
definitely go to the antifascist activists who came from Germany and Austria to
support us at this action.
by Natalie, Revo Prague
