International Students' Day is celebrated annually on November 17th. It was established in 1941 at an international meeting of students from countries fighting against fascism, which was held in London (United Kingdom).
Celebrated since 1946. The date is set in memory of Czech patriot students. Of course, this holiday is associated with youth, romance and fun, but its history, which began in Czechoslovakia during World War II, is associated with tragic events. October 28, 1939 in the Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, Prague students and their teachers took part in a demonstration to mark the anniversary of the formation of the Czechoslovak State (October 28, 1918). The occupying units dispersed the demonstration, while medical student Jan Opletal was shot dead. The funeral of Jan Opletala on November 15, 1939 again turned into a protest. Dozens of demonstrators were arrested. On November 17, the Gestapo and SS men early in the morning surrounded the student dormitories. More than 1,200 students were arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp in Sachsenhausen.
Nine students and activists of the student movement were executed without trial in the dungeons of a prison in Prague's Ruzyne district. By order of Hitler, all Czech universities were closed until the end of the war. In honor of these events, the International Day of Students was established, and in the post-war years, its celebration was confirmed at the World Student Congress, held in Prague in 1946, and since then it has been celebrated annually.
Today, Students' Day is celebrated in many countries of the world, and although the programs for celebrating this day vary, it is very popular with students. And almost no university stays away from the noisy and long-awaited holiday. And the Day is preceded by the International Student Week of Struggle for Peace and Friendship (November 10-17).
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