Monument to Soviet Tank Crews
The Monument to Soviet Tank Crews (Czech: Památník sovětských tankistů) was a World War II memorial located in Prague.[1] It is also known as the Pink Tank because it was controversially painted pink in 1991, first by installation artist David Černý and a second time by members of parliament in protest at his arrest.
The original location of the monument was 50°4′43.8″N 14°24′16.6″E / 50.078833°N 14.404611°E.
Monument
The monument was erected in Kinsky Square (Náměstí Kinských) in the
Following the
Controversy and removal
After the 1989
On the night of 27/28 April 1991, art student David Černý and friends painted the tank pink and erected a large finger suggesting an obscene gesture on its turret, signing the work "David Černý and the Neostunners". Černý was arrested under an often-abused law concerning "hooliganism", and after an official protest by the Soviet government, the tank was re-painted green in time for the anniversary. However, fifteen members of the newly elected parliaments from Civic Forum and Public Against Violence took advantage of their official immunity and painted the tank back to pink on 16 May in protest against Černý's arrest.[6] The cultural monument status was abolished, Černý was released, and the tank was removed after being repeatedly painted green, then pink again, a few more times. The tank is now located at Military Museum Lešany near Týnec nad Sázavou, about 20 kilometres south of Prague.
On 17 October 2002, a fountain called Propadliště času ("Trapdoor of Time") was installed in the spot the tank formerly occupied.
In 2004, a
Černý later proposed a new statue: a pink tank buried three-quarters in the ground. On 21 August 2008, the pink hull of a tank was unofficially installed on the spot. It has a white invasion stripe, the same as Soviet tanks that entered Czechoslovakia in 1968. According to Černý, the statue should draw attention to contemporary politics of Russia.[7] After strong vocal objections from Prime Minister Miloš Zeman and Russian Ambassador Vasili Yakovlev, municipal representatives rejected the project. The statue was finally installed at Lázně Bohdaneč, a spa resort where occupying Soviet troops were located until the early 1990s (location: 50°4′9.426″N 15°40′58.42″E / 50.06928500°N 15.6828944°E).
On 20 June 2011, the Pink Tank temporarily returned to Prague as part of a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet occupation forces.[8] Its return included the erect middle finger, and the entire piece was placed on a barge on the Vltava river and displayed near the Charles Bridge until 1 July 2012.
See also
References
- ^ Government of the Czech Republic, "Entropa: Stereotypes Are Barriers to be Demolished", 12 January 2009.
- ^ Zaloga 1996, pp 42–43, pl A2.
- ^ "VIRTUAL FIGHTERS :: Fórum pro příznivce leteckých i pozemních simulátorů a vojenské historie". Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Pomník sovětských osvoboditelů". Památkový katalog.
- ^ "DaS - 01/2005 - d?jiny a v?ci". Archived from the original on 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2006-03-25.
- ^ Wright, Patrick (25 July 1991). "Why a pink tank made Prague see red by Patrick Wright (first published in the Guardian, 25 July 1991)" (PDF). The Guardian. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ Jana Záhorková, “Černý vrátil Praze růžový tank, tentokrát s okupačním pruhem”, iDnes.cz, 21 August 2008.
- ^ "Różowy czołg wrócił do Pragi | rp.pl". www.rp.pl. Archived from the original on 2012-10-04.
Bibliography
- Wright, Patrick (2001). Tank: The Progress of a Monstrous War Machine, p. 379. Viking Adult. ISBN 0-670-03070-8.
- Zaloga, Steven J., Jim Kinnear (1996 [2004]). T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944–94, pp. 42–43. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-535-7.
- Zaloga, Steven J., Jim Kinnear, Andrey Aksenov & Aleksandr Koshchavtsev (1997). Soviet Tanks in Combat 1941-45: The T-28, T-34, T-34-85, and T-44 Medium Tanks, Hong Kong: Concord Publication. ISBN 962-361-615-5.
- "Pink tank" returns to Prague, floating on river
External links
- The complicated history of Prague's Tank No. 23, article on Radio Prague web site, including photos of the original memorial, the pink tank, and of David Černý
- Actions: Tank 91, Artwork: Sochy: Tank: Lešany – photos at davidcerny.cz
- Marking Memory: Ambiguity and Amnesia in the Monument to Soviet Tank Crews in Prague