Tryzna (The Wake)

Sunday, 1/19 1969 Bratislava

Today, at 3:30 p.m. the student Jan Palach died.

ln spite of all the dedicated efforts of the medical and the nursing staff...

his organism succumbed to the third-degree burns...

covering 85 percent of his body.

The patient passed away calmly.

The Slovak Film lnstitute presents

THE WAKE

A film by

With contributions from

Monday, 1/20 1969 Prague

l don't like to walk in the crowd, when l'm feeling sad.

Because l'm afraid l'll meet someone...

who doesn't feel sad...

or is just pretending.

As for cheerfulnes, that is something l haven't felt for a long time...

a couple of years, l think.

l have climbed a lot of high mountains myself, ...

metaphorically and literally.

And l know that the way which seems to be the shortest, straightest one,

might lead to the abyss.

To reach your goal you must often...

choose a longer path, with some detours.

Monday, 1/20 1969 Bratislava

We've decided to go on hunger-strike to honour the memory of Jan Palach.

ln this way l want to protest against the current course of action.

l don't consider burning yourself alive to be the best form of protest.

Facing our political reality may become so hard, so confusing.

That made this young man resort to such a desperate act.

We have to think about the political reality and force it...

to take us into consideration, react to our way of thinking.

Jan Palach didn't want us to grieve over his tragic death,

but to jolt us all into action.

So our first protest action is this hunger-strike.

Tuesday, 1 l 21 1969 Prague

We need no more victims, there's no point in going on this way.

lt would only weaken the impact of Palach's act.

We have to find a new way which, ...

in case of the relapse of public apathy, ...

would wake people up again and make them ask for what they want.

Tuesday, 1 l 21 1969 Bratislava

A man's grief is the state of his mind.

The nation's grief shows the very state of its mind too.

lt cannot be measured.

You cannot examine its positive or negative impact on society...

or politics, which is usually short-lived.

You can only respect it.

And those who can't should, at least, remain silent...

and quietly leave the great national commemoration.

They'd better not disturb it, and by no means administer it.

''As our nations have found themselves on the verge of despair...''

This is how Jan Palach's letter begins - his last will.

But we have already been told the official standpoint:

''He acted in contradiction with the moral principles of our nations.''