November 17: International Students' Day
International Students' Council observe November 17 as International Students' Day, the remembrance of 1939.A number of universities around the world observe it as a nonpolitical celebration of the multiculturalism of their international students.
History
During late 1939 the Nazi occupants of the Czechoslovakia , in Prague, suppressed a demonstration held by students of the Medical Faculty of the Charles University. The demonstration was held on the 28th of October to commemorate the anniversary of the independence of the Czechoslovak Republic.
During this demonstration student Jan Opletal was shot and died from wounds on the 11th of November. On the 15th of November his body was meant to be transported from Prague back to his home in Moravia. His funeral procession consisted of thousands of students, who turned this event to anti-Nazi demonstration. This however resulted in drastic measures being taken by the Nazi’s. All Czech higher education institutions were closed down; more than 1200 students were taken and sent to concentration camps; and the most hideous crime of all: nine students / professors were executed without trial on the 17th of November.
The nine students and professors executed on the 17th of November in Prague:
- Josef Matoušek
- Jaroslav Klíma
- Jan Weinert
- Josef Adamec
- Jan Černý
- Marek Frauwirt
- Bedřich Koukala
- Václav Šafránek
- František Skorkovský
Previous post's: 10 killed in Afghan market attack
