Things I learned from the Museum of Communism

The Museum of Communism has a website....http://www.muzeumkomunismu.cz/

1). At every exhibit, I had to search for the English translations... It is just such a weird experince to be the foreigner.. I am s0o0o0o glad to have this lesson.... First hand....

2). In one of the translations talking about a statue of Stalin they missused the word past. For those of you who know my best friend, Jenny, you would know why I mention this. The poor girl doesn't know the difference between 'past' and 'passed!' It is one of the many reasons I love her! I have attempted to teach her the difference many times.. She still gets it wrong... haha* Anyhoooo... The translation went something like... "As time past....." and I couldn't help but think of Jen! In a Museum of Communism in Prague, Czech Republic, I see something that reminds me of one of my bestest friends from back home! haha* ((*I heart you, Jen! Hope we are still friends after this post! :) *))

3). The government attempted to create a "Socialist Man" from the children in schools. They taught them to hate the rich. They brainwashed kids to enjoy middle wage and to hate religion. Isn't that bizarre? It is amazing to me how much of a role the government can play in the thought processes of people! Of course kids are going to go along with what they are taught in school! They are stupid kids!!

4). During the Cold War, the Communists distributed gas masks to the public to induce fear of the West (That's us). They warned that the West would stop at nothing with their nuclear bombs. They would even attack schools and hospitals! This sounds ludacris right? YEAH! We said the EXACT SAME THING about them!!! What a revalation that was! Propaganda is the same CRAP in different countries! I could have taken ANY of their propaganda and switched the players and it could have been found in the United States during that time! I had never thought of propaganda like this.... They also had readings about scares where they were suspicious of people in their communities and trust was very low... RED SCARE ANYONE?!?!?!??! It really was a life-changing moment for me.... I will look at things differently for the rest of my life after reading that dumb little paragraph in the Museum of Communism in the Czech Republic.... Wow.. This is exactly the reason I wanted to study abroad!

5). There was a movie that played in one of the rooms in the museum. I watched in horror at the whole thing. The movie showed raw footage of protests that went on during the time. At one point, it showed the Russians entering the country. They were in big tanks in the middle of the streets.. Can you imagine!!?!? How scary would that be!?!?! I could not imagine it! Talk about feeling completely helpless! Then the protests came. Plain clothed police would be in the crowds and would just BEAT people to a pulp. There was one guy who had a camera. The police opened the camera and ripped the film out of it and threw it in the street. (*Yeah, they used film back then...haha*) It just left me with such an intense feeling of empathy for those people. Jan Palach was a student who set himself on fire in protest of the government. He was also upset with the passiveness of the people to the government. It was a huge deal. I have to admit that I was told about this event by our 'tour guide' the day before. I immediately didn't understand and ignorantly disregarded the event as some crazy guy who wanted to make a statement. After seeing the story at the museum, I realize the craziness of the times. This move was a bold statement and was a huge ordeal. Jan Palach died a week later. His parents wrote the following on his tombstone: "Defend truth to the death, for truth will set you free." -Jan Hus

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Communism in Prague. I learned so much in the two hours that I was there. Seriously, my life will never be the same....