Award for Václav Havel in memoriam
The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes has awarded its Václav Benda Awards for the sixteenth time to fighters against totalitarian regimes.
The award was also given posthumously to President Václav Havel for his courageous civic stances during the communist totalitarian era and his active role in defending the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, and for his significant contribution to the return of freedom and democracy in 1989.
It was personally received by Mrs. Dagmar Havlová on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, during the ceremonial event at the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes also awarded Mrs. Eda Kriseová and Messrs. Bohumil Doležal, Fedor Gál, Daniel Kroupa, Martin Palouš, Petr Pithart, Petr Placák, and Jan Potměšil for 2024. Additionally, for the same reasons, it honored former political prisoners and victims of persecution in the 1950s – Mrs. Milena Blatná, Alexandra Součková, and Božena Pištěláková, and Messrs. Ivo Klempíř and Cyril Michalica. Lastly, it awarded Mrs. Alena Šimánková for defending the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights in the field of archival science, and Václav Veber (posthumously) for his significant contribution to historical science in understanding contemporary history. For the first time in history, the laureates received not only a commemorative medal but also a crystal glass trophy in the shape of a heart, specially created for this occasion by renowned Czech glass artist Jiří Pačinek.
The ceremonial event was hosted with traditional elegance by moderator Marek Eben, accompanied by the Eve Quartet with soloist Michaela Rózsa Růžičková. The event was traditionally attended by Václav Benda’s wife, Mrs. Kamila. The event was held under the auspices of the First Deputy Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Jiří Drahoš, and the Deputy Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Jiří Oberfalzer, and as in the previous year, it was also possible to watch it via an online stream on the ÚSTR YouTube channel.