Man Emil Hácha

To this day, Emil Hácha is often perceived by the public and many politicians as a symbol of evil, as a man who bowed to fascist rule, who succumbed to fear. He was often criticised by his contemporaries, who, however, spent the war in the safety of exile in London or Moscow. Exile that our country had to pay for afterwards, whether with gold – as in the case of those in London, or with forty years of subordination to those in Moscow.

Doctor Hácha was probably our most educated president, with a huge sense of justice. And also the only president who did not seek or fight for the office himself, but had to be persuaded considerably to take it. Although he had no experience in practical politics, he was nevertheless able to play a balanced and often even victorious game against the German side. No other president of ours was subjected to the direct pressure of an aggressor who occupied our country. The students arrested after 17 November 1939, and not only them, owed him their lives. Through his actions, which were often the subject of naive criticism, he was able to prevent the possible destruction of many Czech cities and very probably also the extermination of our nation. No president of ours has found himself in so many complex and dangerous situations.