“The day I first saw a map of the future Czechoslovakia” – WW1 survivors remember the birth of their new state

Exactly 100 years ago, on October 28th 1918, the new sovereign state of
Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire
the Czech lands and Slovakia had been part of for centuries. Two weeks
before the Armistice of Compiègne on November 11th which ended all
fighting in WW1, the news of the new-born state spread from Prague to
gradually reach Czech soldiers scattered around the world. In today’s
programme dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Czechoslovakia we
quote from the journals, memoirs and correspondence of Czech – and Slovak
– soldiers fighting in the Great War as well as the accounts of civilians
remembering the heady October days and the events that led up to them.

Published: 
Sunday, October 28, 2018