All it took was a few signatures and the fate of Czechoslovakia had been decided. In 1938 fascist leader Adolf Hitler signed an agreement with the leaders of Great Britain, France and Italy that Germany would be peacefully granted the Sudetenland. Due to this political agreement, made without the knowledge of Czechoslovak leadership, Czechoslovak soldiers, who had been trained and ready to defend their lands, were forced to surrender their arms. However, the conflict did not end with the Sudetenland and the first German divisions crossed the Czechoslovak border on the 1st of October 1938. Half a year later Hitler controlled the entire country and used his newfound strength to attack Poland on the 1st of September 1939. This act marked the beginning of the second world war. The conflict saw the loss of more than 62 million lives and to this day remains the largest and most devastating war in the history of mankind.
The war remains a prominent theme for writers and filmmakers, leading to the creation of a number of incredible films. Screenwriters, directors and composers use their work to pay homage to the heroes of this war and ensure that their deeds will never be forgotten.
At tonight’s concert the orchestra would like to commemorate the horrors of the second world war. This includes a sequence of crushing events, as well as heroes and other figures who fought one of the hardest battles in history. The names of these events are The Munich Betrayal, the Warsaw Ghetto, where over 450,000 Jews suffered, the Battle of Britain which saw the participation of Czechoslovak pilots, the two-year siege of the Soviet city of Leningrad by Army Group North of Nazi Germany, the Battle of the Bulge, the encirclement of the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian troops, and the landing of Allied troops in Normandy... we will try to commemorate these and other depressing events with sensitivity and humility, using music, words and projections.
Music from the movies Ace of Aces, Darkest Hour, Pearl Harbor, The Pianist, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan be performed at the commencement of the 2025 Prague Proms International Music Festival. These pieces will be performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, directed by conductor Steven Mercurio and assisted by actor David Švehlík. The concert will serve to remind us of the tragedies of this war, in an effort to celebrate life, because it is thanks to these heroes that we are all still here.