Almost a fairy tale about Liechtenstein under Nazism. Such an exhibition travels around the Czech Republic. And here is a real story

“The show is traveling in two branches so that it has a greater impact. We have been leading it since the end of May, when the opening was in Opava. A minus after three weeks he travels on it. It was said from the beginning that some irregularities could arise, but you are the first to speak,” said Zuzana Vavrečková from Galerie VENKU to ParlamentnímListům.cz. We were interested in the exhibition Liechtenstein: 800 years of stabilitywhich provides selected information in an attempt to sway the Czech public to Liechtensteins demands for the return of property in the Czech Republic.

Presentation about Liechtenstein of charge

We recently came across the exhibition Lichtenstein: 800 years of stability in front of the building of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague. On several panels, the Liechtenstein family and its connections to Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia are presented in an attractive form. Below the current photo of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein Hans Adam II. states: “Liechtenstein has not recognized the Munich Agreement or the defendant. Despite threats from the German authorities, the prince worked a total of 179 Czechs and 13 Germans on the territory of the protectorate on April 1, 1945.

Elsewhere there is a quote from the prince’s 1937 declaration: “None of the prince’s staff may be a member of the Sudeten German SdP. (The Sudeten German side informally known as the Henleins, editor’s note). Anyone found guilty can be fired immediately. First, you are citizens of the Czechoslovak state…”

The traveling exhibition in Prague was a great success. In the half hour we were walking around, about seven people looked at it. But, it doesn’t exist anymore. As we learned, she was moved to the town of Křtiny, but her twin is in Valtice, where even President Petr Pavel could see her when he visited.

Among other things, the panel titled In wealth says: “The tabloids don’t just mention Hans Adam II. for the richest monarch in Europe’. But what is wealth? “Property is something that is given to you for twenty, thirty, maybe forty years of productive life,” says the current Prince of Liechtenstein. “And your job is to develop this trust estate wisely…'”

According to some older videos on YouTube, the princely family of Liechtenstein manages a fortune of $7.5 billion.

Almost a fairy tale?

The whole exhibition is designed in such a way that the information given on the panels is very real so that together they give the viewer an almost fairy tale. However, it is a fact that is professionally chosen so that the Czech public tends to favor the Liechtensteins for a specific reason!

So let’s remember some other less favorable information from the family history. Václav Horčička, historian, expert on the history of Central European aristocracy and director of the Institute of World History at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, published a book in 2014 Liechtenstein in Czechoslovakia. And in it, the reader will learn a lot of interesting, even not so elegant things.

First, the fact that “in the national consciousness of the Czechs, Karel from Lichtenstein remained one of the main culprits in the ‘dark’ period of the White Mountains,” as he was the chairman of the justice system legal fined 27 Czech lords to be executed. in the Old Town Square in 1621 and then after handing over some property as payment or compensation for loans to the emperor. But that is really ancient history.

So let’s go to the time when Nazi boots were shaking Europe. After all, the Principality of Liechtenstein has been celebrating its national holiday since August 15, 1940, when the Nazis took over Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Norway, and France.

As already mentioned from Horčiček’s book ParlamentníListy.cz: “It cannot be denied that the main reason for the friendship of František Josef II. (reigning prince of Liechtenstein from 1938 to 1989, editor’s note) against the Third Reich the dynasty’s property interests in Central Europe were under German control. The prince intended to take advantage of the changes that took place between 1938 and 1939. But the situation was complicated. The surrender of the Sudetenland to Germany created a space to review the first land reform, but at the same time there was a risk that Liechtenstein would be attached to Germany. So it is understandable that the prince sent Hitler a congratulatory telegram for the Munich agreement. He described the outcome of the negotiations with the great powers as ‘a great deed done for world peace’.”

Europe was living the nightmare and the situation was dire, no doubt about it. In Lichtenštejnová’s book in Czechoslovakia, it is also written: “From the autumn of 1938, the prince also supported several German state and party organizations that were building their organizational structure in the Sudetenland. For example, Krnovský SA (attacking units of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party NSDAP, editor’s note) he donated 1,000 marks for uniforms, and then donated the entire 15,000 marks in November of the same year to the construction of SS units (NSDAP armed group formed in 1925 from die-hard supporters of Adolf Hitler, editor’s note) in Moravské Šternberk, Krnov and Opava.” In 2005, it was also revealed that Jewish prisoners from the Nazi concentration camp Strasshof were working on land in Austria owned by the princely house of Liechtenstein.

Property, assets and property

During the Austro-Hungarian era, the Liechtensteins were among the richest domestic aristocracy. They owned, for example, the Lednice-Valtice region or the castles of Bučovice, Plumlov and Velké Losiny. And about 160,000 hectares of land in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. After the end of the war, Czechoslovakia and Poland confiscated all assets of the Liechtenstein dynasty. In our country, it was introduced on the basis of the so-called Beneš orders. Currently, the Lichtensteins are doing dozens of lawsuits on this property in the Czech Republic, but so far they have not succeeded. In 2020, Liechtenstein submitted an international complaint against the Czech Republic to the European Court of Human Rights.

And that is the main purpose of the show. Light and well-crafted propaganda using “passive disinformation” – which, according to Wikipedia, also means “manipulation of existing information, in terms of being hidden” – to influence Czech Republic. In this context, Liechtenstein carries something similar to the little girls from the famous fairy tale Mu Smolíčka Pacholíčkov, “just hold a few seconds”. They try to influence the public, elites and so on. When politicians change, they start lobbying those in power again. And with today’s political constellation, despite the courts, they feel they have a chance. After all, President Pavel took a positive stance on the current Liechtenstein proposals.

On the frames of the display panels is the Galerie VENKU logo. So we called it Ostrava, where they are based. “We didn’t create the content of the exhibition, we just execute it,” they told us from the gallery. The exhibition was paid for by the Foundation of the Prince of Liechtenstein.

However, it has been compiled for information and truthfully by the folks at Stance Communications. “I work in the company as an assistant. I am not the carrier of the thought. For me, as a private person, I think that Hitler was congratulated for signing the Munich Agreement by other statesmen including those from France and England. But that doesn’t belong here. The client is the Princely Foundation of Liechtenstein, and its spokesperson in the Czech Republic is Michal Růžička. Talk to your questions,” said Kateřina Uhrová from the mentioned company, saying that she is happy that I am dealing with the show in this way.

On the Stance Communications website, Růžička is listed as director of development. He has had an outstanding career in the media. He worked as deputy head of Hospodářské noviny, MF Dnes and Týdn. “Don’t be mad, I’m in a car, I’m driving and I don’t have free hands, so I can’t talk to you,” he said, and then the signal dropped.

The reporter of ParlamentníchListů.cz wrote him a text message: “I just wanted to ask why the show favors some facts and hides others.

The answer didn’t come…