War graves and memorial sites in Varnsdorf
However, the interesting thing is a kind of "national exceptionalism" (in a negative sense), which is probably due to the historical development that marked the Czech basin during the last and the century before that. After 1918, Czechoslovakia was not the only successor state of Austria-Hungary where objects or symbols commemorating the fallen regime were removed. Similarly, the demolition of symbols of the communist era was sooner or later experienced by all countries that were forced to adhere to the Eastern model after the Second World War. An exception is the unprecedented damage to small religious monuments in the Czechoslovak Republic after independence, which was not seen in any other successor state of the Danube monarchy. The destruction of monuments and memorials to the First World War, which is explicable but not excusable, was very similar. In some cases, such as in the cemetery, or in Nová Chřibská or Studánka, it was sufficient to simply remove the German inscriptions, or remove or retouch the plaques with the original names of those who fell on the fronts of the First World War, while some monuments (e.g. the monumental one on Národní Street) were removed in their entirety. Very often, memorials were also merged into so-called memorials to the victims of the World Wars. This practice is quite common in the Czech Republic, usually it was a memorial of the Prussian-Austrian wars modified and added to the victims of World War I and then to the victims of World War II (unless of course they were German soldiers!). The post-war trend was to celebrate the Second World War only, and then only by the Czechoslovak or Red Army. Curiously, today it is these graves that are experiencing decline, damage and oblivion.
Most municipalities are now restoring all historical monuments and memorials, regardless of their nature and period. After all, our countries were affected by all the wars in Europe, the Thirty Years' War reduced the population of the Czech lands by almost two thirds, and in the First World War Czech soldiers fought for the then common homeland (R-U) on all fronts. On some of the war graves we find a deeply human thought that clearly expresses the fate of all the fallen: "Respect and peace to all the fallen, regardless of whose side they were on."
Varnsdorf is not standing aside today either. Thanks to the cooperation with the Association of Military Survivors of the Czech Crown Lands, this year the memorial to the victims of World War I in the local cemetery will be restored to its original state, and in the future also the memorial to the victims of the Prussian-Austrian and World War I in the cemetery at Studánka. Memorials in Nová Chřibská, Rybniště and Horní Podluží are waiting for their resurrection.
Jiří Sucharda, War Graves Care Centre, Varnsdorf, August 2013