IDET
24.-26.5. 2023

In 2014 we will commemorate the centennial of Czechoslovak Legions, who contributed to the formation of our country and their merits are rather neglected today. On this occasion, Czechoslovak Legions community in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, the Military History Institute, Brno Exhibition Centre and other partners prepared a large project, Legion 100. "The goal is to remember one hundred thousand Czechoslovak legionaries who fought for us on all fronts, and Czechs who died in various uniforms. We want to strengthen national pride and show especially the younger generations that Czechs were among the greatest heroes of both wars," explains František Trávníček of the Czechoslovak Legions. The Legion 100 Project will culminate in September 2020, when a hundred years will have elapsed since the departure of the last legionary from Vladivostok, and will include among other things the opening of a Czechoslovak Legions Museum.

A key part of the event features a replica of a legions train that illustrates the life of our soldiers on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Carriages of the field post service, healthcare workers and the so-called "teplushka", a mobile home of all Czechoslovak Legions in Russia, have already been renovated to their original condition and can be seen in the outdoor area M, where the project is presented to the public during IDET. Visitors can see the fourth carriage in its unrenovated state and thus get an idea of the difficulty of their renewal. "A renovation of such a carriage costs somewhere around 250 000 CZK, so the „legions train" is the most expensive part of the project," says František Trávníček.

The outdoor area M also presents exhibition panels relating to the first resistance and a period camp with legionaries in historical uniforms. Lectures on Czechoslovak Legions will be held here, together with film screenings and discussions with historians. History experts will also be present and advise all those interested in finding information about their ancestors - legionaries.