Radio Plzeň: The voice that changed history 80 years ago
Eighty years ago, on May 5, 1945, the first words of freedom rang out over the airwaves in Plzeň. Resistance fighters captured a German transmitter and launched a revolutionary broadcast, laying the foundation for what would become local radio.
No Czechoslovak radio station began broadcasting at the end of World War II as dramatically as Plzeň did. It was the morning of May 5 when teacher and resistance member Dr. Karel Šindler decided to take action. At 8 a.m., he got behind the wheel of his car, a loaded submachine gun by his side, and under fire from SS units, sped toward the German transmitter with a single goal: to seize it and take control of communications.
At Obcizna, where the Mže and Radbuza rivers meet, German soldiers were disarmed and the transmitter was taken. Resistance members, including technicians from the Plzeň post office, quickly made the necessary adjustments. And so, at 12:05 p.m. on May 5, the first historic words echoed from Plzeň’s airwaves: "This is Plzeň speaking, free Plzeň is speaking!"
Technical conditions were modest. The transmitter was not originally intended for radio broadcasts, and the first microphone was repurposed from anti-aircraft defense equipment. Still, urgent messages and reports on the unfolding revolution were broadcast tirelessly. Two weeks later, Josef Skupa loaned the needed equipment— a record player, amplifier, and microphones— and under his direction, the first proper studio was born.
This was the beginning of radio broadcasting in Plzeň, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. The station's history stands as a testament not only to the determination of its founders, but also to the unbreakable will of Plzeň to stand for freedom and truth.
