Jan Opletal – Brave Student Activist

Jan Opletal was a Czech medical student who became a symbol of resistance against Nazi occupation.

Jan was born on January 1, 1915 to Anna and Štěpán Opletal in Lhota nad Maravou. When he was three years old, on October 28, 1918, Czechoslovakia was founded and the Czechs and Slavics were liberated from Austria’s reign. Growing up in an independent country led Jan to become a passionate supporter of democracy.

Jan attended elementary school in Nákle u Olomouce and went on to be an honors student at a nearby high school. After graduating in 1934, he applied to become a pilot, but due to poor eyesight he was rejected from flight school. Instead, he served as a horseman in Prague’s Ruzyně. After his military service, Jan began studying medicine at Charles University in Prague. He lived at the Hlávek dormitory, which was reserved for students with excellent academic achievement, and served as deputy chairman for the student governing body. During his time at the university, he also got engaged to Marie Kafková; however, they would never get the chance to marry.

During Jan’s third year studying medicine, on March 15, 1939, Hitler and the Nazis invaded Prague. Later that year, on October 28, 1939, the anniversary of the founding of democratic Czechoslovakia, a hundred thousand people filled the streets of Prague to protest the Nazi occupation. Hundreds of student protesters from Charles University, including Jan, gathered near Wenceslas Square. The city was littered with flowers and covered in red, white and blue, the colors of the Czechoslovakian flag which had been banned by the Germans. The protesters sang the national anthem and chanted anti-German slogans such as “Get out, Germans,” “We want freedom,” and “Go away, Hitler!” Some even threw stones at German-owned shops. When the Czech police, who sympathized with the protestors, did not step in, German police took action. The Nazi police opened fire on the crowd at Wenceslas Square killing a bakery worker named Václav Sedláček. Jan was shot in the stomach and was rushed to the hospital at Charles Square, where he died two weeks later on November 11, 1939.

Word that a student had been shot spread quickly, and Jan’s funeral on November 15th unexpectedly turned into Prague’s last big anti-Nazi demonstration. Black flags flew at university dormitories across the city. Over 3,000 students attended the memorial, with hundreds following the coffin as it was taken to the train station to be transported to Jan’s hometown. As the students marched behind their fallen peer, local residents gradually joined the procession. The crowd, now thousands strong, reached Charles Square where they began singing the Czech national anthem. Czech police broke up the crowd, sending students home in small supervised groups. The Nazi police, however, took revenge on the students of Prague.

A few days later on November 17, 1939, all of the university dormitories were raided. Students were awakened in middle of the night, beaten and arrested. Nine student union leaders were executed and 1,200 students were sent to concentration camps. The Nazis closed all Czech universities and put an end to Czech student organizations. Until Prague’s liberation in 1945, all of its institutions for higher education remained closed.

In 1941, November 17th was declared International Students’ Day in memory of Jan and all the Czech students who followed in his footsteps. Jan has been commemorated with a memorial plaque on Žitna Street in Prague, and a street near Wenceslas Square was renamed Opletalova in his honor. In 1996, the Czech Republic posthumously awarded Jan with one of its highest awards, the Order of T. G. Masaryk 1st Class.

Students around the world recognize International Students’ Day as a time to celebrate their efforts and achievements in education, but for Czech students this day represents something more. Every year on November 17th they celebrate and honor Jan Opletal, the courageous young student who lost his life fighting for their country’s freedom.

References:
“Jan Opletal (1947).” Memory of Nations, www.memoryofnations.eu/en/opletal-jan-1947.
“Monday Marks 80th Anniversary of Death of Jan Opletal, Symbol of Czech Resistance to Nazis.” Radio Prague International, 20 Nov. 2024, english.radio.cz/monday-marks-80th-anniversary-death-jan-opletal-symbol-czech-resistance-nazis-8115789.

Key words:
Justice, Wartime, Courage, Perseverance, Freedom, Responsibility, Challenge Injustices, Stand Up for Your Beliefs

Image Citation:
Public Domain