Speech of the Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek at the International Conference "February 1948 in Czechoslovakia" given on 25th February 2008

I am honoured that this conference could be held under my auspices. We need the best analysis of what had happened in this country sixty years ago. We owe it then eyewitnesses, who became the first victims of the totalitarian regime. We owe it ourselves, members of the middle-aged generation, who did not go through the birth of that monstrous system, but who spent great part of their time in it. And we owe it our children and grandchildren, those who did not experience communism and who should never experience it. What did February 1948 entail? I will leave professional papers to scientists and memories to eyewitnesses. I will say a few words which I regard as important from the political point of view. I will try to answer the principal question: How to ensure objective research into a phenomenon, which has so political and even ideological character, and moreover, which evokes so strong emotions?

I am of the opinion that we can reach some good result only if we admit in the very beginning that it will be partly very subjective evaluation. As we now from the theory of relativity, a result of physical observation is always influenced by the observer, his point of view and position. And in case of history, observer is so deeply immersed in the story that we can characterize it only as an interpretation of history, not as an exact law. Only the communistic science claimed that it owned an objective truth and it rattled by its deterministic theory of history. If it were functional, communists would have been able to anticipate the future. They were trying to do that but they failed somehow.

Irreversible causality is not applicable to history. History depends on free and not always foreseeable behaviour of people, on a coincidental factor. It depends on the public option, or we can say – on politics. It is true also in case of February 1948, in spite of the fact that many people think that it was unavoidable and that everything had been decided before. Thus unknowingly, they support the communistic conception of history. Freedom is not recognized necessity, after all. February took place because we allowed that; because of our weakness or because our lack of foresight. It was a political event which had been caused by subjective motivation. We can do a free research into it, and it is a positive consequence of political changes after November 1989. Our decision to establish, on the pattern of Germany and Slovakia, the Institute for Totalitarian Regime Studies is such a consequence, as well. Thus, archives are declassified and material conditions for researches are improving. Objectivity of the historical research is just an illusion, as subjective history is seen from the view of subjective historians. We can and we must ensure plurality and competition of different interpretations and opinions. Subjectivity of the research concerns of course only evaluation, not historical data themselves. Nobody can doubt that evil arisen from the communism; those human lives destroyed, and economic damage caused. How to reach high-quality results of the research into February 1948? First of all, we must have freedom, not only that formal one that we have, but also our internal freedom resulting from our conviction that freedom is the highest value. This is the right point of view; this is the right position for an observer of the totalitarian system. Second, we need plurality; we need strong personalities who do not plagiarize, who are able to form their own attitudes. Third, we need respect to rules; the famous Murphy's Law "If facts do not confirm to the theory, they must be disposed of" must not be applied.

You, who have gathered here, experts in historical disciplines, have a great power in your hands, and great responsibility in them. Through your work the public can learn facts and their interpretation. We, politicians must prevent totalitarian regimes from immediate recurrence. However, your work is much more significant. Only the truest and the most complete knowledge on our recent dark history will prevent the totality from coming back through the backdoor in the future. We will be hardly seeking objective laws in our history. But we cannot run away from our own responsibility. As the philosopher Jan Patočka said: "History is not only a view, but also responsibility". Let us have these words in our minds.