By Portia O’Toole
Every year approximately 8,000,000 tourists flock to Prague. They eat chimney cake in Old Town Square, take in the views of the Botanical Gardens, and photograph one another on the oh-so-scenic Charles Bridge at sunrise and sunset. However, for nearly 40 years, thousands of Czechoslovaks risked their lives to flee their country… and hundreds of them didn’t make it at all.
History estimates that approximately 450 people died trying to cross the Iron Curtain – a heavily fortified border during the communist era that separated Czechoslovakia from Western Europe.
Some citizens were shot by guards, some died from electrocution, and others took their lives after failing to escape – fearing the repercussions.
Communism didn’t just control the borders of their country. The state controlled what people were able to see, hear, read, and believe. They put out propaganda to enforce their ideology onto citizens, controlling narratives and preventing many of the country’s truths from being openly talked about.
This long, dark history didn’t stop with the end of the Cold War, or the fall of communism. In fact, there are many countries still controlling their media and news to a high degree today.
This is what makes the work of organisations such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty so crucial.
The US-backed Radio Free Europe (RFE), originally headquartered in Munich but now based in Prague, produced their first test broadcast on July 4, 1949, and went fully to air on April 7, 1950.
Ironically, their first journalists were trained by the communist state. They were highly skilled, but highly skilled to create concise and controlled propaganda.
However, many of these journalists ultimately chose to flee the state and uphold the integrity of their profession.
Their mission, and that of RFE, was simple. To help people in the communist world remain aware of democratic values, alert to the way the government was censoring real news and keep putting the truth out there.
So, in 2026, why does this still matter?
Across the world there are many countries that still heavily censor news, media, history and literature.
Walking around the RFE newsrooms it’s a constant hubbub of work, producing articles for countries all over the world where freedom is still restricted.
RFE now broadcasts across 18 countries and in 24 different languages.
They have a specialist Russian service because President Vladimir Putin’s government only wants its citizens to hear specific details regarding the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
RFE cuts through the noise and brings the truth of the matter to people who need it most.
Their service for Afghanistan is important because the Taliban prevent women and female children over 12 years old from receiving an education.
The most notorious example of this is the case of Pakistan-born Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head while campaigning for girls’ rights for an education.
Prague may have escaped oppression, censorship and strict government control, but many other places have not.
