Category Archives: Czech Republic

The funeral cortege of Vaclav Havel.

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

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Vaclav Havel: “Czech proverb fits this situation perfectly: The height of the tree is recognized once it has fallen.”

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

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Vaclav Havel.

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

A great 2003 article by Matt Welch:   Velvet President – Why Vaclav Havel is our era’s George Orwell and more.

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Christmas music.

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I remember how delighted I was to discover Czech and Polish Christmas Carols.  Enjoy.

Posted in Culture, Czech Republic, Memories, Poland, Religion | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Meet Alice Herz-Sommer: world’s oldest known Holocaust survivor.

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Seventy years ago this week, the Nazis began deporting Czech Jews to the garrison town of Terezín (Theresienstadt) in nothern Bohemia; the oldest known survivor of that Gestapo “show camp” — and of the Holocaust — this Saturday marks her … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Czech Republic, Holocaust | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Here’s a wonderful write-up by Ian Willoughby about a fantastic Czech author and illustrator:

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The unbearable lightness of being: from historian to boiler-room operator to cloakroom attendant to national archivist.

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Only then will I be able to die – until that time, someone has to take care of all of this!

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A memoir about living under two totalitarian regimes.

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Here’s a test: You now have thirty seconds to recommend a single book that might start a serious student on the hard road to understanding the political tragedies of the 20th century. What book would you choose? Of course, half … Continue reading →

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“His death meant my life…”

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

From Born in a death camp: A miracle baby and her mother: “Had my mother arrived in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp holding my brother in her arms, she would have been sent straight to the gas chambers,” Eva says. “But … Continue reading →

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The bumblebee (Brundibar).

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I have a friend who is trying to raise funds for an international education project to tell the story of the 15,000 children who were imprisoned in Terezin. The main goal of the project is to obtain testimony from the … Continue reading →

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The Butterfly, by Pavel Friedman, 1942

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

THE BUTTERFLY by Pavel Friedman The last, the very last, So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone … Such, such a yellow Is carried lightly ‘way up high. It went away … Continue reading →

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Fond memories of Prague…

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Shamelessly lifted from the US Embasy’s Facebook page.

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Vaclav Havel’s last adventure…

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

…or maybe his second to last adventure:  film director.  Ambassador Michael Zantovsky has written a charming piece about a hero of the ages. Here is an excerpt: There is something about Havel, as I have learned after countless press interviews … Continue reading →

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Sir Nicholas Winton, a hero for the ages. (Continued)

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I was working away listening to the Classical Music station, when I heard commentary that there was a new movie that had premiered in Prague (my ears perked…  living in Prague was unique experience for me at a special time … Continue reading →

Posted in Czech Republic, Europe, History, Holocaust, Sir Nicholas Winton, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 21st Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

21 years ago the Czechoslovakian students began what became the Velvet Revolution.  Not much has been written today about such a monumental event.  Today, Lech Walesa celebrated the occasion in Bratislava. Here’s President Havel being interviewed on the 20th anniversary … Continue reading →

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