International
Students' Day is an international observance of the student community, held
annually on November 17. Originally commemorating the Nazi storming of Czech
universities in 1939 and the subsequent killing and sending of students to
concentration camps, it is now marked by a number of universities, sometimes on
a day other than November 17, as a nonpolitical celebration of the
multiculturalism of their international students.
Origin
The date
commemorates the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of
Prague after demonstrations against the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and
the killings of Jan Opletal and worker Václav Sedláček. The Nazis rounded up
the students, murdered nine student leaders and sent over 1,200 students to concentration
camps, mainly Sachsenhausen. They subsequently closed all Czech universities
and colleges. By this time Czechoslovakia no longer existed, as it had been
divided into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic
under a fascist puppet government.
Jan Opletal |
In 2009,
on the 70th anniversary of 17 November 1939, OBESSU and ESU promoted a number
of initiatives throughout Europe to commemorate the date. An event was held
from 16 to 18 November at the University of Brussels, focusing on the history
of the students' movement and its role in promoting active citizenship against
authoritarian regimes, and followed by an assembly discussing the role of
student unions today and the need for the recognition of a European Student
Rights Charter. The conference gathered around 100 students representing
national students and student unions from over 30 European countries, as well
as some international delegations.
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