The Woodrow Wilson Monument Unveiled in Prague

Prague, October 5, 2011

Dedication ceremony was attended by both Czech and American dignitaries.

The statue returned in front of the Prague’s main railway station after 70 years.

Czech and American dignitaries unveiled the Woodrow Wilson Monument and the Walk of Freedom in Prague on October 5, 2011.  The dedication ceremony featured the participation of Czech President Václav Klaus, former Czech President Václav Havel, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and U.S. Ambassador Norman Eisen.

“Neither the Nazis nor their Communist successors could destroy the fundamental concepts that govern our two nations.  Let this new Wilson Monument hold these same truths, so that our future generations will know our unwavering commitment to a just and tolerant world,” said Ambassador Eisen in his remarks at the dedication ceremony.  The full text of the remarks can be read here or watch the video.

See the pictures of the dedication ceremony

The original monument, built in 1928  in gratitude for Woodrow Wilson’s crucial role in Czechoslovakia’s independence, was torn down by the Nazis in 1941 after the U.S. had entered the WW II.

The project of the Woodrow Wilson monument’s reestablishment in Prague was initiated in 2008 by the American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR), a Washington, D.C., based non-profit organization.

A joint exhibition of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the National Museum in Prague opened on October 4, 2011.  It highlights the role of U. S. President Woodrow Wilson and the strategy of patriot Tomáš Masaryk in the founding of an independent Czechoslovakia after WW I.