John Lennon Wall Prague

On the death of John Lennon on December 8, 1980, a curious thing happened in Prague. Along an existing wall beside the French Embassy, a picture of him appeared. This image became surrounded by notes, messages, fragments of Beatles’ songs and political verses. The police washed it all off. It reappeared. John Lennon, to the young Prague a pacifist hero, the wall became a symbol. All attempts made to cover up the grafitti were thwarted. The activity slowed down after the Velvet Revolution of 1989.Today, however, in spite of frequent whitewashing, the image of John Lennon remains. So, too do the ongoing appearances of messages of peace, love, Beatle lyrics and other material.