As the world commemorates the end of WWII, the most destructive conflict in human history, Czech leaders note that Russia has changed - once one of the allies, it is now an aggressor

Two hours later, Czech President Petr Pavel appointed new generals to the armed forces at Prague Castle. For Romani communities throughout the country, the commemorative day does not just represent the horrors faced by their forebears during the war, but also the determination and strength to fight for justice and to survive.

RomanoNet, an umbrella organization for pro-Roma and Romani NGOs, made that assertion in a press release. “The Second World War left a deep mark on the lives of many Romani and Sinti people. They were persecuted systematically and murdered as part of the Nazi racial policies. Remembering these Holocaust victims, their suffering and their bravery, is important,” the press release reads.

“Today, as we are celebrating the liberation and the end of the horrors of that war, we should not just commemorate the victims, but also their determination to fight for freedom and human rights. The Romani community still struggles with discrimination and inequality, and therefore it is important to continue the fight for our rights and recognition,” RomanoNet said.

Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková issued a statement saying: “Today is the day when we should commemorate the human lives which were needlessly wasted, the victims of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Stop hatred! Never again!”

Petr Pavel: Russia has unleashed a war, the destructiveness of which compares to the Second World War

Czech President Petr Pavel attended the commemorative ceremony on the Vítkov Hill and gave a speech in which he said that millions of civilian lives had been wasted during the Second World War and that damages had been caused of an unimaginable value in material terms, all because of the twisted ideology of racial superiority. Thanks to those who actively resisted and stood up to evil, the next generation were able to live their lives in peace, according to the president.

He called it an historical paradox that the Soviet Union was an essential part of the allied coalition in that fight, but that today Russia has itself become an aggressor and has unleashed a war on the continent of Europe that is comparable to the Second World War in its destructiveness when it comes to loss of lives and the value of the material things destroyed. “We have been able to see this for more than two years now, day in and day out, as the conflict develops to the disadvantage of Ukraine,” he said.

Pavel said that by contrast, the defeated Germany, then under Nazi rule, has today, after deep reflection, become a democratic country supporting peace and stability in Europe and aiding those around it. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that today’s brutal conflict can only end with the defeat of the aggressor and that everybody is doing what they can to aid Ukraine’s success.

Fiala said that anybody who belittles or trivializes the threat posed by Russia is doing a disservice to the Czech Republic. Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová (Civic Democratic Party – ODS) reminded the public that the Czech Republic is a strong ally of Ukraine.

“We belong among the countries which are not just providing military material aid, but we are also providing training at Libavá, where we are able to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers annually,” the Defense Minister said after the ceremony. “However, it is decidedly not the Army of the Czech Republic, or the Defense Ministry, who want to escalate this conflict somehow. It’s precisely the opposite. Czech soldiers and the Defense Minister are those who hope for peace most of all.”

Karel Havlíček, an opposition politician, said all wars end in peace. “There must be negotiations, and understandably that is up to the superpowers, even if the Czech Republic is part of the European Union and its strong group, this is about the United States. The war has to end with peace talks together with Ukraine. I think Ukraine is also inclined to admit that negotiations are necessary. We are convinced that the sooner the negotiations start, the better position Ukraine will be in to end this conflict,” he told the journalists present for the ceremony.

Pavel heeds the Government motion to promote the director of the Security Intelligence Service (BIS), Michal Koudelka, to major general

On the occasion of the celebrations of the end of the Second World War, President Pavel promoted the Director of the Security Information Service (BIS), Michal Koudelka, from the rank of brigadier general to major general in a ceremony at Prague Castle, one year after the Government’s motion to that effect. The Director of the General Inspection of the Security Forces (GIBS), Vít Hendrych, was promoted to brigadier general as well.

Also on the occasion of Victory Day, the head of state promoted another 11 soldiers, policemen and firefighters. Speaking after the ceremony, he said that being appointed general or promoted to a higher rank of generalship is a very prestigious day for any man or woman in uniform, the fulfillment of long years of preparation and work.

“However, this is also an expression of your accountability, the responsibility you hold not just for the people and the entities you will lead, but also your accountability to the political leadership of your departments,” the commander-in-chief told the new generals. He added that he did not mean personal loyalty to specific politicians, but loyalty to the country and to their efforts to provide its leaders with the best, most expert advice possible.

The president also thanked the partners and wives of the new generals for supporting them in their work. The appointment of the new generals at Prague Castle was also attended by the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) and by Prime Minister Fiala.

Commemorative ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War were also held in Brno, Havlíčkův Brod, Liberec and Pardubice. A ceremonial muster of American National Guard and Czech Army units was held in the town of Hranice.

The President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, and the Mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, also attended the commemorative ceremony to honor the memory of the victory over Nazism at the Olšany Cemetery in Prague. The Office of the Czech Government at the Strakov Academy was lit up in the colors of the Czech tricolor for the occasion.

The Second World War: The most destructive conflict in human history

The Second World War lasted from 1939 to 1945 and was the biggest, most destructive military conflict in human history, costing the lives of more than 62 million victims. Shortly after the total occupation of what was then Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939, war broke out in the rest of Europe.

The war began on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Shortly thereafter, France, the United Kingdom and the states of its Commonwealth declared war on Germany.

On 17 September 1939, Poland was also invaded by the Soviet Union (the USSR). Germany’s invasion of Poland had been preceded by Germany’s non-aggression pact with the USSR, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed on 23 August 1939.

In May 1940, Germany’s Wehrmacht, on the orders of Adolf Hitler, crossed the borders of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and then bypassed the defensive Maginot Line. After quickly defeating the French Army, German troops entered Paris on 14 June 1940.

France capitulated on 22 June 1940 and by November 1942 the Germany Army had gradually occupied the whole country. The Soviet Union became one of the Allies in the Second World War against the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis after Nazi Germany launched its destructive, extensive Operation Barbarossa against the USSR on 22 June 1941.

The war rapidly spread to involve most nations worldwide, including all of the superpowers of the time, which were divided into two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. The Second World War also witnessed the Holocaust, the systematic annihilation of Jewish people, Romani people, and other groups by Nazi Germany.

In Europe, the war ended on 8 May 1945 with Germany’s unconditional surrender. After America dropped atomic weapons on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August and on Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945, Japan also capitulated on 2 September 1945.