Post-War Reconstruction

A number of Charity Organizations were established in the effort to eliminate the war damage in the Opava region. The most notable of these was the "We Are Building Silesia" campaign, in which municipalities, schools and associations from the hinterland took over the patronage of locations in Silesia, which they then materially supported. This campaign was led by the teacher Jindřich Šajnar and the painter Helena Salichová. She also created several promotional graphic cycles depicting the effects of the war in the region. The Memorial of the Resistance of the Silesian People at Ostrá Hůrka became a symbol of the efforts to rebuild Silesia. The original sculptural group, dating from 1929, was destroyed by the Nazis during the occupation. On September 23, 1945, a massive demonstration was held at its ruins to celebrate the liberation and to support the restoration of Silesia, which was also attended by General Heliodor Píka, a native of Štítina and the chief of the Czechoslovak Military Mission in the USSR during World War II (in the photo from the demonstration, in the middle of the second row).