November 11th marked in Czech Republic

November 11th, known as Remembrance Day in North America and most west European states, was marked by several ceremonies in the Czech Republic. In this country, the holiday is known as the Day for War Veterans. Formal celebrations began already on Friday, when the Czech minister of defense decorated several war veterans with medals at a ceremony in Prague Vitkov, where there is a memorial to war veterans. The Day for War Veterans - or Remembrance Day - marks the formal end of World War One in November 1918; WWI killed about ten million soldiers, and about twice as many civilians. Czechoslovakia, the predecessor state to the Czech Republic, appeared on the map of Europe for the first time as a result of the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which disappeared after WWI.