Today, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka together with Minister of the Interior Milan Chovanec and Czech Post’s Director General Martin Elkán presented a commemorative stamp issued to mark the 75th anniversary of November 1939 and the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka considers the issuing of the stamp as a significant event allowing all of us to commemorate and honour this important historical anniversary.

“Defending democracy is an ongoing task for us all; therefore as many people as possible should know how political structures work, how and why programmes of different parties differ, and that political rights that we have gained are a prerequisite necessary for different social groups and currents to be able to discuss the form of society we are living in. It is good that November 1989 brought this legitimate conflict back into our country,” said Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

Minister of the Interior Milan Chovanec believes that the events of November 1939 and 1989 prove that people always wanted and still want freedom, and are willing to fight for it. “We should not forget the times when citizens actively defended democracy despite the threat of imprisonment or even threat to their lives. The atmosphere of the November days twenty-five years ago, when all generations including mine wanted to get the right to make decisions about their lives, is still fresh in my mind. We must therefore not let down those who voted for us as democratic politicians in free elections. It is our duty to behave so that our fellow citizens need not be ashamed of us,” said Milan Chovanec and added that a special stamp commemorating the 17th of November is a nice way to spread this memory among as many people as possible.

“I see the events of November 1939 and 1989 as crucial days in the struggle for freedom in the history of our country. I know about the closing of universities and murdering of students only from history books, but the more I realize how important those circumstances were for the feelings of the people of our country. In 1989 I was already at an age when I was fully aware of the impact of the November events and of our newly found freedom. I am therefore very glad that Czech Post can also contribute to the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution by a new stamp as a small symbolic reminder of this important day,” said Czech Post’s Director General Martin Elkán.

Commemorative stamp marking the 17th of November 1939 and 1989

The stamp was designed by academic painter and graphic artist Jan Kavan; the first day cover was engraved by graphic artist and engraver Václav Fajt.

The stamp comes out with a first day cover and commemorative handstamp. The first day cover depicts policemen with shields and a rose; although the picture refers to the events at the Národní Třída street, it is a symbol of a confrontation between violence and love. The method used to print the first day cover is recess printing from flat plates in blue and grey. The stamp features pieces of barbed wire as a symbol of lost freedom and fight for freedom, and the text: “Prague, 5.11.2014”.

The catalogue number of the stamp is 827 and the stamp is valid from 05 November 2014 until revoked.

In the past, only two stamps came out to mark the November events. The first one was the 1989 1-crown stamp portraying Jan Opletal, designed and engraved by Josef Herčík.

The next one was the 14 CZK stamp issued on 04 November 2009 to mark the 17th of November, designed by academic painter and graphic artist Ivan Štrouf. The engraving on the first day cover was designed by Jaroslav Tvrdoň. The stamp is still valid and there are still approximately 200 thousand pieces of the stamp in stock.

A total of 28 commemorative stamps were issued in 2014 in accordance with the annual issue plan, including stamps to mark the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the 150th anniversary of Czech Fire Brigades, or victims of World War I. Another eight postage stamps came out as definitive stamps.