The first year of silver medals of the Czech Mint from the "National Heroes" cycle commemorates a philosopher, two paratroopers and an economist. Three legionnaires and fighters who were killed in the struggle against totalitarian regimes will be introduced in 2018. General Bedrich Homola is the first.

The Czechoslovak legionnaires represent an exceptional group of men, whose stories closely describe our history of the 20th century. At first they volunteered during the First World War for military units of a non-existent common state of the Czechs and Slovaks and contributed to its international recognition with its admirable military performance. Then they built not only the army of the independent republic but also its democratic environment. It was a nation's elite, not only military but also diplomatic, artistic and, last but not least, political. Their strong character was demonstrated even during the Second World War, when they once again stepped up to defend their homeland. Many of them joined home resistance movement after the Nazi occupation and eventually ended in the execution sites. There was also a man named "Ataman", who headed the Underground Army called Defense of the Nation. "I consider General Bedrich Homola one of the forgotten heroes of our modern history. Not only his courage was fascinating but also the readiness to bring the highest sacrifice in the fight for the freedom of his homeland. I also admire Homole's extraordinary political outlook which has helped to analyze the situation in the Protectorate better than a number of professional politicians, " says a recognized historian and expert guarantor of the National Heroes project PhDr. Petr Koura, Ph.D.

"The filled surface of the reverse side with the brutal elements as the hook cross is disturbed by cracks and wedges and it is horizontally intersected with a proof band with text that symbolizes the difficult situation of the time: THE COMMANDER OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE DURING THE NAZI OCCUPATION. Horizontal intersection of the composition has a response on the obverse side, " describes the idea of ​​a silver medal´s reverse side academic sculptor Jiří Dostál. He placed the front portrait of Bedrich Homola in an officer's uniform on the obverse side. The life chronology and the reason for death were placed horizontally in its nape as a reference to the heroic fate.

The silver medal is stored in spectacular packaging in the form of a book with a professional account of the life and the reference "Ataman" from Peter Koura's pen. You can save the whole series of medals in the collector´s box, which you can also find in the offer of the Czech Mint.