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Jan Opletal




On October 28 , 1939 (anniversary of the independence of the Czechoslovak Republic ) there were anti-Nazi demonstrations and riots in Prague, which were suppressed by Nazi forces. Jan Opletal was seriously wounded, and died later on November 11 . His funeral on November 15 , attended by several thousands of students, turned into another anti-Nazi demonstration; as a result, the Reichsprotektor (nazi-representative in the puppet-state Böhmen Und Mähren ) Konstantin Von Neurath closed all Czech universities and colleges, over 1200 students were sent to concentration camps, and nine students were executed on November 17 .

To commemorate these events, November 17 is marked as International Students Day by the International Union Of Students and other groups.