Prague, Czech Republic

Prague- We took a rickshaw tour of Prague. Our guide was full of stories and information. His family had lived in Prague for generations.

After WWII, the KGB used the church to gain information about citizens. As a predominately Catholic country, most citizens regularly went to confession. The KGB would use this information against the citizens. Today the country is 95% atheist.

His grandfather has a job in a factory. They manufacture electronic parts for aircraft. One day he was promoted to shipping manager. Every day the products made were loaded onto a train to be shipped out. He rode the train the first night. The train stopped at a landfill where all the products were offloaded and burned. After asking some questions, he discovered the products they were manufacturing had been useless for years. He shipped products to be burned for the next 10 years.

The metronome was the replacement for the the large statue of Stalin that was originally located in the same spot. How would it feel to have a 50 foot statue of your dictator on the highest point in town?

Our guide says 80% of the people are happy with capitalism but the other 20% miss the good old days of a guaranteed govt job and paycheck.

Intelligent people were viewed as risks under the communist regime. People that could think for themselves could be dangerous. Many were persecuted or disappeared. Parents were likely to encourage their children to be as average or below at school.