Totalitarian Circus 

Totalitarian Circus is a multi-genre cultural project implemented by Opona, o.p.s., an organization set up by a group of young people who felt the need to commemorate and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain with the dignity it deserves.
Opona’s projects and its Totalitarian Circus showcase are intended not only for the first "free generation" born after November 1989, but also for those who experienced totalitarian Czechoslovakia first-hand.
The aim of all the projects is not to judge the actions of others, but to provide a long-running presentation of materials sufficient to give people a more vivid idea of how complicated the past was, and to provoke deeper reflection while shunning superficial, radical denouncement.

Totalitarian Circus consists of the following cultural events: 

Calendarium of Totalitarianism

Calendarium of Totalitarianism is a freely accessible outdoor travelling exhibition which, in the form of a stylized bus stop erected in a public space, offers visitors a comparative overview of major landmarks in the post-war autocratic history of four Central European countries engulfed by Communist totalitarianism: Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and the German Democratic Republic. Faced with all the most significant moments on a single timeline, visitors will be able to form a picture of the features shared by the totalitarian systems that controlled society in the different states, and how the citizens of these countries coped with them.
The text has been prepared by the historians Jan Adamec, Libor Jůn and Rudolf Vévoda. The graphic design of the Calendarium is the work of Kryštof Doležal. The construction of the Calendarium has been projected by Václav Kejha and associates.

Totalitarian Simulator

Another part of this event is the Totalitarian Simulator, a model prepared for the installation of an exhibition that will give visitors a hands-on experience of totalitarianism. This large-scale interactive exhibition has been put together by historians, teachers and artists to enable visitors to learn about and experience first-hand the situations specific to different stages of life at various times under totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia (1948–89).
The model of the spectacular Totalitarian Simulator sheds light on the principle of this planned project: how visitors become a virtual person on the threshold of adulthood at the time of the political coup in 1948 and how they are sucked into the society of totalitarian Czechoslovakia. In the Simulator, visitors will have the chance to respond to real events, take decisions for their virtual character, and immediately see how their reactions compare to the real stories and fates of people living under totalitarianism. The Simulator model was designed and produced by the Jednotka artists Rastislav Juhás and Richard Wiesner.

Personal History - In 1989 I was five years old… it’s just skin deep for me

With no first-hand experience, what they know of the era their parents lived through has been handed down to them. Thanks to their parents and grandparents, they can grasp the mood that prevailed under the previous regime. Drawing on oral history, their own memories and a six-month quest, the producers and actors try to view the recent totalitarian past, in an utterly blurred and very open way, from various angles. Their goal is not to unearth any truths about the current state of society or form a generational opinion on a time now past, because their encounters with the past have brought surprises rather than conflict. This is the source of their questions. If we want to search for our own identity, we cannot avoid conflict with the past and the questions it engenders. This theatre production combines elements of documentary and physical drama.
Concept, director: Petra Tejnorová
The theatre poject is produced in co-production with Roxy/NoD Experimental Stage.



Věčné časy (Eternal Times) 

This publication offers three ways of recalling everyday life under totalitarianism. The first part comprises the confessional reflections of people from different generations and with varying fates: Václav Havel, Jiřina Šiklová, Karel Hvížďala, Jan Ruml and Martin C. Putna. Another part, by the historian Kamil Činátl, attempts to capture the way major historical milestones blend in with everyday totalitarianism. The Czechoslovak totalitarian years are a collage of political, social and cultural events, juxtaposed to reflect their absurd interplay between 1945 and 1989. The terminology used under totalitarianism is compiled as a glossary of terms typical for everyday life in a Communist world.
The publication also includes a list of important domestic and foreign institutions which specialize in the totalitarian era. The text is complemented by a wide range of period photographs and images of everyday life under totalitarianism. The book concept was drawn up by Ondřej Cihlář and Opona, o.p.s. Filip Blažek and Studio Designiq came up with the graphic design.


The guidline workbook and set of themes and materials to educate students about the Czech totalitarian past and hold discussions with them on this topic are designed as a teaching aid for schools. A link to the trial version can be found at www.cirkustotality.cz. This methodology is being prepared for primary and secondary school teachers by  civil association Gemini,  in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library.