Prague, Sept 14 (CTK) – An exhibition marking 80 years from the death of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, a co-founder and the first president of Czechoslovakia, was opened in the National Museum (NM) on Thursday, presenting him not only as a politician but also as a man, as NM head Michal Lukes put it at the opening ceremony.
The exhibition will run through the end of January.
Its six sections offer 220 items such as Masaryk’s informal suit, his death mask and various audio and video materials.
The visitors will have a rare opportunity to see the originals of the well-known Bohemian “rare medieval” manuscripts of Dvur Kralove and Zelena hora, which were “found” in the early 19th century but a group of scientists around Masaryk later proved that they were modern fakes.
“We did not want to present Masaryk as a politician only, but we approached him as a man…We mainly want to bring the young generation to the exhibition, make them understand Masaryk and try to adopt some of his ideas and ideals,” Lukes said.
The exhibition’s sections, with headlines such as Tomas, Professor, Garrigue, President and Picture, show various aspects of Masaryk’s personality, including his private life.
The items on display include an eagle feather witch which he signed the declaration on joint interests of independent Central European states in Philadelphia 1918, a robe of his wife Charlotta and a bookcase with his works.
Masaryk’s disputes with various opponents are highlighted as well.
“The documents from the disputes over the [widely worshipped “medieval”] manuscripts or the trial of Leopold Hilsner [a Jew unrightfully accused of a ritual murder], show Masaryk as a man who did not fear to stand up against a majority, if he was convinced about being right,” Lukes said.
The exhibition will be accompanied by three smaller displays.
The first of them, to run from September 15 to October 2, will focus on the above manuscripts. Another one will highlight the Hilsner case from October 3 to November 30. The last event, in December and January, will show the Presidential Office’s archive photos from 1918-1933.
More information is available on www.nm.cz.
Masaryk was was a founding-father of Czechoslovakia, one of the successor states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, together with Edvard Benes and Milan Rastislav Stefanik.
He was the country’s first president from 1918 to 1935. He died at the presidential chateau of Lany, west of Prague, on September 14, 1937, aged 87.
