Prague and Plzeň celebrate Czech uprising and liberation

A number of ceremonies in Prague taking place throughout Sunday commemorated the 68th anniversary of the Czech uprising against the Nazi occupation at the end of World War Two. Defense Minister Vlastimil Picek and Prague mayor Bohuslav Svoboda attended a remembrance ceremony for those who died during the uprising, which was started by the Czech resistance on May 5th, 1945. President Miloš Zeman and top-level politicians attended the traditional ceremony in front of the main Czech Radio building on Vinohradská street, where the first conflict between the German SS units and members of the resistance and Czech police took place and 89 people died during the fighting. The Czech Radio broadcast on May 5 calling for Czechs to defend Prague is said to have set-off the uprising.

Celebrations in the west Bohemian Plzeň marking the anniversary of its liberation by American troops on May 6, 1945 have been taking place since Friday. On Sunday, Plzeň is hosting a traditional procession of historical military vehicles, gatherings of war veterans and re-enactments of military life during World War Two.