The Memory of the Nation is born in conversations and memories of people who witnessed key events of World War II and Nazi oppression, as well as violent post-war reprisals, in which the nascent communist dictatorship and its period lasting until 1989 were already making themselves felt.

Among the thousands of stories we preserve in the Memory of the Nation, there are those that remind us of quiet, unassuming, yet extraordinarily strong courage. 

✨ From the actions of František Suchý, director of the Strašnice crematorium, who risked his life every day to preserve the names and ashes of thousands of victims whom the Nazis and Communists wanted to erase from memory.

✨ From the selfless help of Květoslava Bartoňová, who shortly after the war saved dozens of orphans from the Valley of Death and helped them start a new life.

✨ From the courage of Miroslav Hampl, a 19-year-old young man who stood up for political prisoners in the Jáchymov mines and helped them escape.

✨ From the ingenuity of Jaryna Mlchová, who produced fake medicines so that Jews could escape transport to concentration camps.

✨ From the help of Josef Salač, a member of the Sokol movement from Kostelec nad Labem, who secretly supplied the families of imprisoned friends with meat and smoked meats, even though he was threatened by the Gestapo.

✨ From the courage of Vanda Biněvská, who at the age of sixteen joined the Czechoslovak unit in Buzuluk and covered the retreat of her comrades-in-arms at Sokolov.

Their courage was born from a small, ordinary decision: not to remain silent, but to speak up. That is the power of our work: to remind ourselves that courage is born from ordinary decisions.

Every interview, every recording, every photograph or document we save is an important piece of history. These memories allow us to learn what courage, responsibility, and humanity mean. 

Thanks to you and your support, we commemorate the milestones of our history and the stories of the people who were part of it. We preserve the stories of people who might otherwise be forgotten. We transform them into educational workshops, films, books, exhibitions, comics, and online archives so that they can inspire new generations, but also ourselves, because it is easy to forget.