Prague , Czech Republic ( CNN ) -- Fireworks and rock ' n ' roll echoed across central Prague on Tuesday as thousands of marchers commemorated the 20th anniversary of the `` Velvet Revolution '' that toppled Communist rule . The peaceful 1989 uprising began with a student march to mark a 1939 clampdown on opposition in what was then Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia . It drew 15,000 people -- students as well as teachers , professors and ordinary Czechs who had grown weary of state control . Ivan Pilip , one of the students who took part , said the march `` was very different '' from previous demonstrations he had joined . `` There was a different group of people , '' he said . `` We feel that people that participated in such events before had come , and they 're ready to do something . And it was more and more visible every minute . '' The protest was held a week after the opening of the Berlin Wall , as pressure was building on the Communist governments of Eastern Europe . When the demonstrators tried to divert the march to central Prague 's Wenceslas Square , they were attacked by police -- a response that led tens of thousands more people to join mass demonstrations that lasted another 10 days . `` My kids can not understand today what was moving our minds and hearts that day 20 years ago , '' Pilip 's wife , Lucie , said Tuesday . `` We watched television today to show them what we had come through these 20 years , and I think it 's an enormous success . '' The protests led to talks between government officials and the Civic Forum , a group of dissidents led by playwright Vaclav Havel . The Communist Party ceded power in December , and Havel became president . `` Many of our citizens who took part in the democratic changes died already with a feeling that they contributed to something that meant a lot , '' Havel said Tuesday . `` In our ordinary , daily lives , we tend to forget our friends of that time -- our comrades , free-thinking individuals . '' The anniversary march was capped by a concert that featured dissident musicians of the day , along with American folk singer Joan Baez . Havel himself appeared onstage with a guitar , but told the crowd , `` Do n't worry , the guitar does n't mean I 'm going to play today . '' Musicians , actors and other artists played major roles in the protests . Michael Kocab , now the Czech Republic government 's human rights minister , was a rock singer who became the revolutionaries ' key negotiator . `` In the beginning there was many times this idea , 'What am I doing here , ' '' Kocab told CNN recently . `` I knew in the future I 'd get used to it . And five or 10 days later , I forgot I was a musician and I submerged myself in political negotiations . And I liked it . '' The celebration was organized by Opona , a nonprofit group established to observe the milestone anniversary of the dismantling of the Iron Curtain . `` Our inspiration to do this was from our memories -- we still remember the times that preceded the events , '' said David Gaydecka , one of the organizers . `` We believe that the changes in those 20 years have been positive despite all those maladies which came along with the freedom . '' -- CNN 's Phil Black and Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report .
Czech students take to the streets to mark 20th anniversary of fall of communist rule . Student clashes with police in 1989 triggered events that rid then-Czechoslovakia of totalitarianism . The march in 1989 was in memory of the students who perished under the Nazis .