President Pavel has announced that he will award Zdena Mašínová, daughter of the executed anti-Nazi resistance fighter Josef Mašín, with the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk at a state awards ceremony on October 28. Mašínová is still debating whether to accept the award, as her family fought against totalitarian regimes out of duty, not for awards.
Last year, former president Miloš Zeman posthumously awarded Josef Mašín with a state honour, but Mašínová refused to accept the award from him. However, she has said that she would accept the award from President Pavel.
Mašínová is also the sister of Ctirad and Josef Mašín, who put up armed resistance against the communist regime. While they escaped to West Berlin in the 1950s, Zdena stayed in the country and was persecuted by the regime until the revolution.