The surroundings of the Ostrava studio of the Czech Radio spontaneously came alive with the songs of Karel Kryl. Musicians with guitars in hand reminded people of the anniversary of the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops. The legendary bar U Waldemara organized an event called ‘Go home, Ivan’, and Kryl’s songs were also played in front of his statue, which decorates the corner in front of the radio.
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The 58-year-old singer-songwriter Jiří Beránek recalls the invasion in an original way right in front of the Ostrava radio building. “It’s from the heart. I told myself that I simply have to be here, even if it rains,” he says, sitting on a stool right next to the statue of Karel Kryl. “Actually, thanks to Karl Kryl, I learned to write and compose songs,” he adds.
Right across the street is the legendary U Waldemara bar, where Karel Kryl liked to go. And here, too, the occupation was remembered. “Here goes history. Karel Kryl used to come here when he was filming Bratříček. These are the things that are stamped here somewhere. The energy is here somewhere,” bar owner Přemysl Bureš looks around.
Ostrava in August 1968|photo: Ivan Sláma
“Tanks of the then Warsaw Pact also arrived here, that is, Russian tanks. So I see no reason not to remember the occupation. On the contrary. These days we know that the war is just around the corner,” adds Bureš.
Ostrava was occupied by a division called Železná. There was even no mining in a part of the coalfield for a few days.
