80 years ago: Prague rises up against the Third Reich
May 5th marks eighty years since the Prague Uprising, the daring efforts of the Czech Resistance to throw off Nazi rule. Having played a pivotal part in the uprising, Czech Radio holds annual acts of commemoration.
“Je sechs hodin”.
This was the Czech-German announcement of the time that radio broadcaster Zdeněk Mančal read out at 6 AM on May 5th 1945. The words were a sign to Czechs in the Nazi-ruled Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia that something extraordinary was about to happen.
By broadcasting in the banned Czech language and playing Czech music, the radio staff were ordered to stop by German officials, who even summoned the Prague SS garrison for help. Mr. Mančal later recalled the reaction:
“They came running to me in the broadcasting room and threatened me. A German announcer came to me, sent by the intendant Thürmer – a figure who was only subordinate in the protectorate to Goebbels, the Reich’s propaganda minister.”
The Czech population understood the broadcast as a signal to start resisting the occupiers across Prague, by tearing down German signs and refusing to speak the language. Fighting broke out inside the Czech Radio building, where a unit of armed Czech policemen clashed with SS guards. During the fierce ‘Battle for Czech Radio’, broadcasting continued, and at 12:33 AM the famous call to arms was sent out: “Calling all Czechs! Come to our help at once!”
Over the course of the day, the resistance captured and held key institutions and parts of infrastructure, like railway stations, the telephone exchange and the infamous Pankrác Prison. Civilians worked overnight to build hundreds of barricades across Prague’s streets.
The conflict, which lasted until May 9th, is today known as the Prague Uprising. It ended with the final escape of German troops and the arrival into the Czech capital of Soviet forces. This came one day after the German Instrument of Surrender was signed.
The radio station’s role in the Prague Uprising is well known and continues to be commemorated. For this year, the eightieth anniversary, Radiožurnál broadcast a historical reconstruction of events over the course of the morning, speaking to eyewitnesses and historians. In front of the Czech Radio building, a solemn commemorative event took place, where Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová, the Speaker of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil and the Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda were among those paying tribute.
Related
-
80 years ago: How did WWII end in the Czech lands?
Eighty years ago, the most destructive and lethal war in history approached its end. In this series we map the last stages of the war and its aftermath on Czech territory.
