Speech given by Klára Samková on August 25th 2016, by occasion of visit Mrs. Angela Merkel in Czech Republic

My esteemed friends,

Today’s action was called in order to express our disagreement with politics of Mrs. Merkel, currently a German Chancellor. This female politician is visiting Prague for purpose of negotiations of rather vague content, whose details our media to this day did not care to mention or brought up often contrary news.

Mrs. Merkel is coming to Czech Republic at invitation of Czech government. Due to such invitations of foreign statesmen by Czech government in the past, namely in August, represents for us a very bad experience. That date alone is a reason for our nation to be cautious. I think, considering international political situation, that we can agree this invitation was extended by a government alone, but certainly not by Czech nation.

Why is her visit generating such a resistance and apprehension? Let’s try to find an answer to Mrs. Merkel’s question. Czechs and Germans are sharing a great deal of history together. For Czechs the Germans always represented  a threatening element already from times of Czech King St. Wenceslas, when part of Czech history was a consideration, how to approach an coexistence with them. That is, if to pay them in a silver rods and bulls, or if to go to an open military conflict. These were innumerable, started by looting and burning by Brandenburgs in Czech lands and ended by entrance of Warsaw Pact armies in 1968, whose one part was German Democratic Republic.

We cannot deny a fact, that we were spared a fate of the Elbe Slavs and ethnic Luzic Serbs, who were totally obliterated from a map by German tribes only by natural geographical position of Bömerwald Mountains from southwest and unfriendly and impassable Krusne Mountains (Grim Mountains) from northwest. I am convinced that without them, we Czechs, as the most westerly islet of Slavic settlement, would not be here anymore.

One of the questions, that is meandering through entire history is that of Czech-German relationship. Quite strong reservation of Czechs towards Germans is not only given by a thousand years of  pressure from a territory, that forms today’s Germany, but also a fact, that Czech lands were inserted into a German speaking entity. Resistance against anything German dates back and is tied to a history of Holy Roman Empire followed by Austrian monarchy.

The culmination of mutual Czech-German conflict was a treasonous actions of Konrad Henlein and his Sudeten German Party inside of Democratic Czechoslovakia, followed by an occupation by Nazis, committing repugnant atrocities toward our nation. After Second World War it resulted in forcible removal of Germans that was a fulfillment of hundred year Czech dream, a country without Germans. But it is also necessary to note, that during that time there was a lot of excesses committed, criminal acts and murders by Czech inhabitants and at last, but not the least, suicides by a whole German families. Needless to say, that forcible removal of Germans under these conditions are nothing that Czechs can be proud of.

Quite a new page of Czech-German relationship history started to be written after year 1989, when democratic regime was established on both sides. Both countries applied a great intellectual effort to repair our relationship marked by thousand years of war, disputes and crimes. The Czech-German Fund of Future, that realized roughly 9000 projects, whose purpose was a support for a mutual understanding between Czechs and Germans. Tens of thousands of Czechs and Germans spent their time, money and intellectual effort toward improvement of mutual relationships and building a friendship, in order to heal scars of fate that both nations suffered in their living together.

I am proud, as Brno born, that already tenth piety march, in footsteps of removed German speaking inhabitants of Brno took place, that is known as a “ Pilgrimage of Reconciliation”. I am proud of every single cross, erected on common border and every side path, built by mutual cooperation, of many, namely cultural Czech-German actions, that were successfully executed during last 25 years, supported and understood by both Czech and German populace.

And now, esteemed friends… WHAT.

Today German Chancellor is coming from a country, from which, for a thousand years, was coming nothing but a threat and destroys everything, what we and Germans built in last 25 years. And for what??  Because of so called fugitives and migrants, whose presence in Europe cannot be considered for nothing else but another occupation army.

To put it briefly… Mrs. Merkel betrayed 25 year cooperation and forced Czechs once again to be afraid of Germans and their politics. Everybody here disagrees with German Chancellor about incomprehensible politics she practices toward African and Near eastern migrants, about her bringing Islam to Europe, against which our ancestors successfully fought. I personally consider German Chancellor for something worse, than a bad politician.

I consider her a betrayer of her own nation, betrayer of all democratically minded Germans. I consider her a betrayer of Czech nation and all those, who took part in and made effort towards fraternity of democratic and friendly relationship of our two nations. Mrs. Merkel destroyed all that and now we are supposed to watch, how, based on so called invitation of Czech government; she plans to occupy our country not by black uniforms with skull insignia, but caftans and burkas.

In the past, Germans already once made a bad choice, when, democratically, they elected Hitler as a Chancellor. As a result, entire Europe suffered, Czechs and Germans included. Now they made the same mistake with Angela Merkel. Is Europe supposed to pay again? Not at all. No second Munich, no help of fraternal armies. Times, Mrs. Merkel, have changed. Czechs are not a bunch of sheep. Our government could have invited you, but we, a Czech nation, disagree with you and do not want your politics here. We are going to defend ourselves and we will succeed, even for a price of some victims.

Because we know, Mrs. Chancellor, what you might have forgot long time ago, providing, that you ever knew, that life is not the most important. Life in slavery is not a life, but a mere existence. What is most important is freedom. This is of what we are reminding you of today and challenge all democratically and European minded Germans to remind you of the same at home. Long live Czech Republic and Germany, but without Angela Merkel and her likes.