BIRTH(+)FACT(᙮)DEATH(-)

39th year  -  N° 360                 Wednesday, 25 December 2024         Antwerpen		
Die Tonight
BirthFactDeath (-)
Tuesday 25th of February 1969

55 years ago



Revolutionary student Jan Zajíc commits suicide by self-immolation at the age of 19 in Wenceslas Square, Praha, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.


Around 1:30 in the afternoon Zajíc walked into the passageway of the building at No. 39 on Wenceslas Square and ignited his chemical-soaked clothes. Zajíc was unable to run out of the door and collapsed and died in the hallway.

"Mother, father, brother, little sister! – When you read this letter, I will already be dead or close to death. I know what a severe blow my act will be to you, but don't be angry at me. Unfortunately, we are not alone in this world. I am not doing this because I would be tired by life, on the contrary, because I cherish it too much. Hopefully my act will make life better. I know the price of life and I know it is the most precious thing. But I want a lot for you, for everyone, so I have to pay a lot. Do not lose your heart after my sacrifice, tell Jacek to study harder and Marta too. You must never accept injustice, be it in any form, my death will bind you. I am sorry that I will never see you or that, which I loved so much. Please forgive me that I fought with you so much. Do not let them make me a madman. – Say hi to the boys, the river and the forest."