Woodrow Wilson returning to Prague, thanks to suburban man

Woodrow Wilson's benevolent gaze over the streets of Prague has been gone for more than 65 years, but the dream of recreating the monument that bears his name is coming to fruition.

A monument to Wilson, a favorite American president among Czechs for his enthusiastic support of Czechoslovakian independence following World War I, has been missing from Prague's main train station since the Nazis pulled it down in 1941.

Now, an active movement to replace the monument is gaining momentum among Czech Americans, particularly in the Chicago area.

Two key figures working on the project are Robert Doubek of Riverside, who founded American Friends of the Czech Republic, and member George Drost of Arlington Heights.

The organization is hosting a fundraising dinner Nov. 10 at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago that they hope will put them over the top. The monument is expected to cost $500,000.

"This means so much to me and to anyone of Central European heritage," Drost says.

The 11-foot tall bronze statue already is underway by a team of three Czech sculptors, with architects working to design its base and pedestal. It was commissioned through a partnership between the American Friends of the Czech Republic and the City of Prague and is expected to be dedicated in 2012.

Sculptors are working to replicate the original statue as closely as possible. The original was sculpted in 1928 by Albin Polasek, who depicted Wilson at the Versailles Peace Conference, arms outstretched and the American flag draped over his shoulders.

Polasek, who was Czech, later headed the sculpture department at the Art Institute of Chicago.

His original plaster model of Wilson's head and shoulders was discovered in a Prague warehouse, but sculptors have been carefully recreating the rest by hand.

Drost takes great pride in his Czech ancestry. He was Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Chicago for two years before serving on the Prague-Chicago Sister Cities International Committee.

As the result of Drost's activism, pride among members of the local Czech American community has risen, and now he hopes to draw on that support in his fundraising.

The monument's return, organizers say, is a tangible sign of the freedom, obtained first in 1918, and again from Communism 20 years ago.

"Wilson did so much to create these independent states after World War I, and then with the fall of Communism 20 years ago, it just celebrates going back to Democracy," Drost said.

The monument will bear the original inscription both in Czech and in English: "The World Must Be Made Safe For Democracy."

"Rebuilding this monument has become a personal mission for me," Drost says. "It reminds all people not to take freedom for granted."

Czech citizens regard Wilson as a hero for his collaboration with Tomas Masaryk, the first president and founder of Czechoslovakia, to win independence as the Austro-Hungarian empire was into smaller successor states broken up following the Great War.

Czechoslovakia existed as an independent nation from 1918-1993, when it split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia - except for 1939 to 1945, when it was forcibly incorporated into Germany. The Germans tore down the monument on Dec. 11, 1941, after the United States declared war on Japan.

"Chicago played a key role in creating the Czech state," Drost says. "Masaryk's historic visit in May of 1918 helped convince Wilson to collaborate with him for Czech independence later that year."

On that visit, Masaryk - who was familiar with Chicago, having lectured at the University of Chicago twice before - was cheered by a crowd of 150,000.

Wilson had been won over to the idea of self-determination for Czechs and Slovaks, and in 1918 backed efforts to form a free Czechoslovakian Legion to fight with the allies and win independence. The U.S. officially supported a new Czechoslovak Republic independent of Austria and Hungary, and Wilson pushed the idea at the Paris Peace Conference in 1918-1919.

The rebuilding of the monument is being spearheaded by Doubek, who besides founding American Friends of the Czech Republic was project director for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

"I was inspired to pursue the Wilson project because of the gratitude and pride that Czech visitors express when they see the Masaryk Memorial in Washington," says Doubek.

"The Wilson Monument will be the counterpart in Prague to symbolize the common democratic values of Czechs and Americans.

Wilson died in 1924, before his monument was dedicated on July 4, 1928. Masaryk and Wilson's widow, Edith Galt Wilson, did the honors.

Its replica will stand in front of Vrchlicky Park, across from the train station, which also is undergoing a complete renovation scheduled for completion in 2012.

<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News">Woodrow Wilson Monument Returns to Prague gala </p> <p class="News">• 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. dinner, on Tuesday, Nov. 10.</p> <p class="News">• Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E. Pearson St. </p> <p class="News">• Business attire. </p> <p class="News">• Call (312) 553-2000 or visit <a href="http://pjhchicago.com/afcr" target="new">pjhchicago.com/afcr</a>. </p> <p class="News">• Tickets: $500</p>