Czechast special: Reconciliation, protest and history as Sudeten Germans meet in Brno
For this Czechast special, Vít Pohanka joins the March of Reconciliation from Pohořelice to Brno, where painful memories of the post-war expulsion of German-speaking residents still resonate. This year’s event carried added weight, as Brno hosted the Sudeten German Association’s annual gathering for the first time in history. Alongside calls for reconciliation came loud protests, revealing how emotionally charged the subject remains.
Brno became the setting for a remarkable and emotionally charged moment in Czech-German relations this past weekend, as the city hosted the annual gathering of the Sudeten German Association for the first time in its history.
The event coincided with the annual March of Reconciliation, which commemorates one of the darkest chapters in Brno’s modern history. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, in late May 1945, around 20,000 German-speaking residents of Brno — mostly women, children and elderly people — were forced from the city and marched south toward the Austrian border in brutal conditions. Many died from exhaustion, disease and mistreatment. Those unable to continue often ended up in or around Pohořelice, where an improvised camp with overcrowded and unsanitary conditions became the site of further suffering.
Today, the March of Reconciliation symbolically retraces that painful history in reverse, walking from Pohořelice back to Brno as an act of remembrance and reconciliation. This year’s march carried unusual significance because it unfolded alongside the annual Sudeten German gathering, held in Brno at the invitation of the Meeting Brno initiative. The move was historic, but also controversial.
Small groups of protesters confronted participants both at the start of the march in Pohořelice and later in Brno, accusing organisers of betraying the Czech nation and opposing the presence of Sudeten Germans in the city. Although highly vocal, the protesters were visibly outnumbered by those taking part in the commemorative events.
At the heart of the effort stands David Macek, one of the founders of Meeting Brno, which emerged from Brno’s official attempt in 2015 to acknowledge the suffering caused by the post-war expulsion:
"We were able to recognise what happened here after the end of World War Two. It was really a bloody vendetta against the German-speaking population. This fact became a taboo during Communist times. We were able to recognise it and to say sorry for that to our former fellow citizens — Czechoslovak citizens of German language."
For Macek, the aim is not to erase history, but to confront it openly and create space for dialogue — even with those who disagree:
"First of all, it’s a sign of freedom. They can be here. They can be against. They can express themselves. And what is important for me is that even if they are against, they are here and they see the atmosphere. They see the faces of our guests from Germany. This is also some kind of encounter."
The tensions did not end there. The following day, an official demonstration against the Sudeten German gathering took place in Brno, featuring former Czech president Miloš Zeman and Communist Party leader Kateřina Konečná. Police estimated attendance at between 2,500 and 4,000 people. While there were verbal confrontations, no serious incidents were reported. The weekend offered a vivid reminder that while Czech-German reconciliation has come a long way, the legacy of war, expulsion and collective memory remains deeply sensitive.
To learn more, listen to the full Czechast Special episode.
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Czechast, Radio Prague International
Czechast is a regular RPI podcast about Czech and Moravian culture, history, and economy.
