The Archives of the Secret Police
During communist time there was a secret police in Czech that
kept record from many citizens. Tens of thousands co-operated
with the secret police. The archives of secret police were located
in Brevnov monastery, which was closed for religion use. Interesting
is that these archives are not opened to public. This is because
the last minister in charge of the archives had no courage to
open them and now only limited number of people can enter the
archives that are no longer kept in Brevnov.
These archives of the secret police have become a part of healing
process of the post-communist Czech. Common peoples would like
that these archives would be opened but those in power disagree.
This immediately raises question that perhaps they have something
to hide. There is a law in Czech that all individuals have the
right to know what the secret police wrote about them selves.
In many cases files are no longer detected. Who knows, could be
true or then the law is not so well obeyed. There was anyway somehow
effective law that made impossible for past co-operators or workers
of secret police to work in important governmental positions.
Everyone in high position had to get negative ticket from officials
able to pass to archives. There is of course exceptions too, some
crucial to their position are still in their posts.
One argument that they have used to keep archives closed is that
during 1989 revolution most of the documents were destroyed. They
say that big names are already erased and what are left are only
small names. Most probably true. One of Charta 77 signers says
police had more then enough time to destroy evidence. Other argument
is that not all of names in the co-operators list rightfully belong
there. One could have end up to the list by mere accident or they
could have been forced to co-operate or there could have been
persons who didn’t even know being co-operators. For example
a group of scientist had to sign co-operation contract only to
be able to go international science conference in Libya. That
doesn’t really make them henchmen.
Different matter is, if it is even necessary to find guilty ones.
It would be practically impossible to charge anyone for just because
they are in the list and charging thousands of peoples would make
no sense. Opening archives of the secret police would be the same
as opening old wounds. Officials opened archives in East Germany
and it resulted many difficulties. We can only imagine what the
reaction was when someone heard for example that his or her best
friend informed he or she to secret police. Some names from Czech
lists have flood to publicity, which has brought these people
to quite tough spot.
There are many small so call communist villages in Czech that
won’t open up, because they have many bad memories from
communist times. These villages or towns are mostly located in
former Sudeten German area, where communists gave houses to co-operators,
since there were lots of empty houses after all Germans were expelled
from the country after Second World War. These areas and some
eastern areas are also the main support areas of communist party
today. In few of these villages attitudes are more open and this
has uncovered many human rights violations of communist regime.
There is a documentation office of the crimes of communist time
in Czech, which job is to gather information from crimes done
between 1948 and 1989. Knowing the Czech bureaucracy it can’t
be too efficient one.
Opening archives of secret police is a difficult matter to Czechs.
In some ways it is not reasonably open these archives but keeping
them closed is not right solution ether. By keeping the archives
closed democratic Czech is pursuing the same policy as communist
Czech used to pursue. She is also committing to the same kind
of distort of truth as communist regime did. It is useless to
argument should the archives be kept closed or be opened. The
truth is only uncovered when archives will be opened. To be a
respectful and modern European state Czechs have to first face
their past.
In a year 1992 former Charta 77 signer Petr Cibulka published
list of co-operators of the secret police in the Internet.
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