A memorial to the second Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes was unveiled
on Monday in front of the Foreign Ministry headquarters near the Prague
Castle. President Benes is not as widely popular today as his predecessor,
Tomas Garigue Masaryk. But he is still very much respected among many
Czechs, who see Edvard Benes as a champion of democracy and fighter
against Nazism. Their view is, however, not shared by the Sudeten Germans
— ethnic Germans expelled after World War II —who blame President Benes
for their plight.

The unveiling ceremony was widely attended by a number of politicians,
including the Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, but above all by many Czech
veterans, members of the anti-fascist resistance movement, and of the
patriotic association Sokol.
The speakers stressed President Edvard Benes's merits, especially his
leadership of the London-based government in exile during the Second World
War, and his fight against Nazism.
The Chairman of the Lower House of Parliament, Lubomir Zaoralek:

"Right now, after we have discussed the events of the Second Ward War on
the occasion of its 60th anniversary, it seems to me it is the right time
to speak about our history. You know that Benes was one of the greatest
fighters on the side of Churchill, Queen Wilhelmina, De Gaulle…..He is a
part of the gallery of the great fighters of the Second World War. In the
war against cruel Nazi regime he was on the side of democracy freedom and
justice."

Joy Kadeckova from Great Britain has served in RAF, the Royal Air Force,
during the war. She married a Czech pilot and worked for the Benes'
government in exile during the war. She found the installation of the
memorial to Benes deeply satisfying.
"I think he represents Czechoslovakia of that time. He did his job well in
London, everybody held him in great respect. I think he deserves this very
belated honour which has been bestowed of him. To make it now 65 years
after is too late."

But the memorial installation was not welcome by everyone. The German
expellees who were forced to leave Czechoslovakia after the war, view
President Benes as someone who has taken a great part in their expulsion
and they strongly criticised the memorial installation. At a gathering of
Sudeten Germans in the town of Augsburg last weekend, the Prime Minister
of the German federal state of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber, compared Benes to
Stalin and called the Benes memorial installation a "provocation".
Lubomir Zaoralek strongly rejected this characterisation of President
Benes.
"I regret it very much that something like that has been said. It is
impossible and absurd to put Benes in one rank with Stalin. Since Mr.
Benes was together with Mr. Masaryk a founder of Czechoslovak state in
1918, this attack is also an attack against Masaryk and against that
state. That is why I am so sorry that something like that has been said.
But I hope this is only a minority opinion. For me it is important that I
know great European democratic politicians in Germany who are our very
good partners, who realize what is important for us, and who are willing
to accept our respect to President Benes."
But President Edvard Benes is not free of criticism even in the Czech
Republic. In the Munich Agreement in the autumn of 1938, the Allies agreed
to allow Hitler to annex the Czech border regions, in an effort to appease
him. Some believe that Benes' subsequent decision not to defend
Czechoslovakia militarily was unforgivable. Others take issue with Benes'
own appeasement policy after the war towards the communists and the Soviet
Union and say he made the "bloodless coup" of February 1948 and communist
accession to power easier. Still, on the whole, while opinion is divided
on his policies, Edvard Benes himself remains one of the most respected
political figures in Czech modern history.

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