A Visit to the Museum of Communism Prague

Will the Museum of Communism in Prague appeal to the more casual tourist?

The Museum of Communism in Prague might more aptly be called the Museum of Capitalism. As attractive as communism in theory might be (with that whole “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” notion floating about), it didn’t exactly turn out that well as practiced in the Czech Republic after World War II, a point the Prague Museum of Communism repeatedly makes.

Having been to Russia, I cannot exactly remember a tribute, in museum-form, anyway, to communism, even though a number of people I happen to encounter there seem to have preferred it. Those advocates were not so much dedicated to communism as a cause as adherents to a system they understood and knew how to manipulate to their advantage. To its inhabitants, the capitalism practiced in Russia today sometimes proves perplexing.

As is a good deal of the Czech Republic’s history, much of which I learn about during my visit to the Museum of Communism Prague. This is a place where a certain measure of reading is required of visitors as the history of this nation—Czechoslovakia came into being in 1918 after the first Great War—is printed on the walls.

~Advertisement~

Exhibits and Reading Material at the Museum of Communism Prague

And so we begin, with the founding of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1921 at a time when workers in factories seemed to be realizing that low wages and long hours were not such a great deal. The global Great Depression in the 1930s didn’t help matters much, nor did the ceding of Czech land to Hitler in 1938 after a meeting between representatives of the U.K., France, and Germany. Czechoslovakia’s president was oddly excluded from the get-together.

One can understand a certain measure of dissatisfaction with the status quo on the part of the Czech people given how World War II turned out for them. By 1948, businesses had become property of the state.

“Forty years of undemocratic Communist rule had begun,” a wall in the museum proclaimed. So had a high level of Soviet influence.

Upon our entry to Prague, our driver pointed out a giant metronome that replaced a monstrous statue of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union in the 1940s and early 1950s. Photos of the now-gone statue (it was destroyed when Stalin was succeeded by Nikita Krushchev) appear in the museum along with a bit of odd history: the statue’s creator, Otakar Svec, and Svec’s wife committed suicide prior to the unveiling of the statue in 1955. Stalin did not live long enough to see it, either.

East-West Contrasts at the Museum of Communism Prague?

Visitors walk, and read, through galleries chronicling the use of propaganda and the emphasis on industrialization at the expense of the environment. One cannot help but wonder how different displays at any Museum of Capitalism might be.

Relics of times past, such as phone booths, may charm older visitors and intrigue younger ones. The space race and the emphasis on competitive sports are covered here, as are darker subjects like the development of a police state, the use of interrogations, and the loss of freedom of association.

Is an afternoon at the Museum of Communism Prague a substitute for a book on the history of the Czech Republic? Of course not, but a visit here just might inspire further interest in the topic.

Why Visit the Museum of Communism Prague?

• Political science majors, history buffs, and lawyers might particularly appreciate the perspective on communism as it was practiced in Czechoslovakia, as will those who lived through the Cold War era when the Soviets and Americans seemed to be in a race to dominate the planet and also the Olympic games.
• More youthful adventurers will learn some lessons about world history they might not have covered in depth during their school years.
• The museum offers a perspective on how life in the Czech Republic developed in the last century or so that tourists may not experience elsewhere. Various forms of protest, from self-immolation to less painful forms of student activism, covered here may spark deeper thought on how individuals in any country might voice dissatisfaction with their leadership and bring about lasting change.
• Ultimately, there is a happy ending with the fall of communism in the Velvet Revolution and the development of a parliamentary democracy.
• Signage appears in both Czech and English. The museum also features a café and gift shop.

Museum of Communism (in (Czech, Muzeum komunismu), V Celnici 1301/4 (just off of Namesti Republiky), Prague 1

—Lori Tripoli

~Advertisement~

Are you planning a trip to Prague? You might like these posts:

• Should You Visit Terezin Concentration Camp?
• A Stay at Jurys Inn Prague
• One Day in Prague
• Finding Gavrilo Princip at Terezin
• Day Trip to Kutna Hora

Where is the Museum of Communism Prague?

~Advertisement~

Share on Pinterest!

~Advertisement~

What is your favorite museum in Prague?