American Friends of the Czech Republic

American Friends of the Czech Republic have had several initiatives. On September 19, 2002, the T.G. Masaryk Memorial Statue and Park was unveiled in Washington, DC. This project was established 2 years ago to honor the legacy of the first President of Czechoslovakia, T.G. Masaryk, and celebrate the friendship between the Czech and American people. AFoCR also is working on establishing a T.G. Masaryk Scholarship Program where Czech and Slovak students will be able to participate in established educational programs with a focus on civil society, democracies, and rule of law. AFoCR was asked by the Czech Government to establish the AFoCR, Prague-Needs-Help Flood Relief Fund in August of 2002. This fund will provide assistance to disaster relief efforts in the Czech Republic.

AFoCR is currently working towards restoring the Wilson Monument (that was torn down by the Communist regime in 1941) in the Prague train station.
A memorial monument to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson will return to a location at the main Prague train station that bears his name. The Prague City Council approved the restoration plan in August, 2007,and the memorial is slated to be unveiled in 2009. “We want to rebuild the memorial for many different reasons; primarily because of our respect for Woodrow Wilson, and, secondly, because of respect for our friends in the United States and for our emigrants,” said Prague Mayor Pavel Bem.

American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR) is leading the effort to reerect the Wilson Memorial in Prague as a followup to its related initiative of establishing the Tomas Masaryk Memorial in Washington, D.C., completed in 2002. AFoCR Director Robert Doubek, who is Project Director for the Wilson Memorial, summarized the initiative: “The Wilson Memorial in Prague, as the counterpart of the Masaryk Memorial in Washington, will complete the symbolism of the long-standing ties of friendship and joint democratic values shared by the American and Czech peoples.”