Naděžda Kavalírová

Activist Type
Human Rights

Naděžda Kavalírová: A Czech paramedic, human rights activist, and former political prisoner who fearlessly resisted the Communist government in Czechoslovakia. Born in 1923, she joined the opposition movement after the Communist takeover in 1948 and paid the price with a three-year political prisoner sentence from 1956 to 1959. She even participated in a student march to Prague Castle and later led the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes from 2007 to 2013. Her legacy lives on as she served as the leader of the Confederation of Political Prisoners until her passing in January 2017.

Artwork by
Anne Di Lillo

Comprised of simple shapes and text, Naděžda Kavalírová’s piercing blue eyes stare out from beyond her prison bars formed from exclamation marks. This portrait is inspired by the graphic art on vintage Czech film posters and matchboxes from the time of her political imprisonment.

Czechia

Capital
Prague
Founded
January 1, 1993
Demonym
Czech
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