Czech National Day
AFoCR Directors with Minister Lipavsky (photo credit Michal Danis)
AFoCR’s President Roger Kodat delivered the following remarks:
Minister Lipavsky, Ambassador Stasek, Ambassador Graber, and distinguished guests, as President of the American Friends of the Czech Republic, we are pleased to join in celebrating the 107th anniversary of the founding of the new nation of Czechoslovakia in October 1918. This statue, dedicated in 2002, is the fruit of a joint project of the Czech government and AFoCR.
It is fitting that we again gather on Czech National Day to remember and honor the exceptional leadership of a stateman such as TG Masaryk. He was a master at building unity to establish a new democratic nation in Central Europe - bringing together many different viewpoints held by Czechs, Slovaks, Americans, and others at that time. His commitment and passion to forge a new nation must never be forgotten. Now, more than ever, we need statesmen of his ilk.
Since this monument was erected in 2002, many thousands of people who have passed it over the years might be surprised to know of the special place that the United States played in the creation of the Czechoslovak Republic. After marrying an American woman he met in Leipzig, Tomas Masaryk was invited to lecture in Chicago by Charles Richard Crane, a wealthy industrialist. Crane then helped to connect President Wilson with his Czech friend. The rest is, as they say: is history. I hold dear the following Masaryk quote that is most appropriate on this day: "We will be always connected with the American nation, connected through the spirit of liberty and democracy.
Mr. Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the AFoCR continues in the footsteps of the man in whose shadow we stand. Grateful to be Americans with a strong Czech connection, our organization endeavors to build on this legacy in the years to come. Congratulations on this National Day! Thank you.
