I World Festival of Youth and Students

The First World Youth and Student Festival took place in July and August 1947 in Prague, capital of the then Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDF), the first edition of its festival brought together about 17,000 young people from 72 countries under the motto "Youth, join in the struggle for a firm and lasting peace!" The Cold War was just taking shape and US President Harry Truman had outlined the doctrine that bore his name months ago.

The opening ceremony was held on 25 July at Strahov Stadium in Prague. The blue flag was hoisted with the emblem of the World Federation of Democratic Youth and the Democratic Youth Anthem was heard for the first time, with music by Anatoli Novikov and lyrics by Lev Oshanin. The Festival lasted almost four weeks, making it the longest so far organized by the FMJD.

Prague was not chosen as a seat by pure chance; the World Federation of Democratic Youth sought to recall with their election the events of October and November 1939, when thousands of young Czechs staged powerful demonstrations against Nazi Germany's occupation. The demonstrations provoked a wave of repression that led to the closure of all higher schools, the arrest of more than 1,850 students and the sending of 1,200 of them to concentration camps. It also sought to honor the villages of Lydice and Ležáky, devastated in retaliation for the murder of the Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich, nicknamed the Butcher of Prague.

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