The Memorial To The Victims Of Communism, Prague, Czech Republic Editorial Image

Pictured is the bronze strip that runs along the center of The Memorial to the victims of Communism, a series of bronze statues in Prague commemorating the victims of the communist era between 1948 and 1989. It is located at the base of Petřín hill, Újezd street in the Malá Strana or the Lesser Town area. The bronze strip that runs along the center of the memorial shows estimated numbers of those impacted by communism: 205,486 arrested, 170,938 forced into exile, 4,500 died in prison, 327 shot trying to escape and 248 executed It was unveiled on the 22 May 2002, twelve years after the fall of communism, and is the work of Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek and architects Jan Kerel and Zdeněk Holzel. It was supported by the local council and Confederation of Political Prisoners KPV. The statues appear more `decayed` the further away they are from you - losing limbs and their bodies breaking open. It symbolizes how political prisoners were affected by Communism.