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For the events of Spring 1968, see Prague Spring

Prague Uprising
Part of World War II
Residents and defenders of the Prague Uprising barricades greet the Red Army tanks on May 9, 1945
Date May 5 - May 8, 1945 Location Prague, Czech Republic Result Surrender of the insurgent forces
Belligerents
Germany	Czech Resistance Russian Liberation Army
Commanders
Karl Hermann Frank Rudolf Toussaint	Otakar Machotka Sergei Bunyachenko
Strength
40,000	30,000 (Czechs only)
Casualties and losses
1,000 killed	2,000 killed
Unknown number of civilians killed

The Prague uprising (Czech: Pražské povstání) was an attempt by the Czech resistance to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation during World War II. Events began on May 5, 1945, in the last moments of the war in Europe. The uprising went on until May 8, 1945, ending in a ceasefire the day before the arrival of the Red Army and one day after the Victory in Europe Day.

[edit] Prior to Uprising

Several factors greatly influenced the daily life of the majority of people, including: the militarization of the economy, the elimination of political rights, transportation to the Nazis for forced labor and national oppression. Various forms of German oppression in the cities affected not only the working class, but also the “middle strata”—the small and middle businessmen, and the lower categories of state and civic employees, for example.^[1]

The most important task of the Czechs was to stop the fascists from disturbing what Czechoslovak territory they still occupied as well as to stop them from continuing the war on Czech soil, which was essential to force the German occupants completely out of the country. They needed the support and help of the Red Army in order to become fully liberated.^[2]

As the ending to the war was coming closer, it had a powerful effect on the residents of all over Czechoslovakia. In fact, it strengthened their longing to explicitly illustrate their bitter hatred toward the German occupants.^[3]

In the spring of 1945 throughout Czechoslovakia, there were both many large and small partisan groups that totaled to about 7,500 anti-fascists. These followers mostly took part in the “battle of the rails”, in which they disturbed the railway and highway transportation, attacked trains and stations, as well as German troop trains, and damaged tracks and bridges. For example, there were some lines the Nazis could use only in the daytime and not even every day.^[4]

On the eve of the uprising, the propaganda activities of the group called the Communist youth, were in full swing, but didn’t last long. Also, on the eve of the uprising, the Communist groups whose solidarity had been broken by arrests in March were somehow able to work under the tough circumstances of illegality.^[5]

[edit] Battle for Czech Radio

From 30 April to 1 May 1945, the Waffen-SS Senior Group Leader (Obergruppenführer) and General of Police Karl Hermann Frank announced over the radio in Prague that he would drown any uprising in a "sea of blood." As rumors of an impending Allied approach reached Prague, the people of Prague streamed into the streets to welcome the victors. Frank ordered the streets to be cleared and instructed the German army and police forces in Prague to fire at anyone who disobeyed.

On 5 May, the uprising was triggered in the morning by a broadcast on Czech radio. In a mixture of Czech and German, the broadcast announced: "It is just six o' clock". A group of Czech policemen attempted to seize the radio building on Vinohradská street, without realizing that a detachment of SS soldiers was already stationed there, which resulted in bitter fighting. With the sounds of combat in the background, the radio station continued to broadcast, encouraging citizens to revolt.

[edit] Uprising

At about 1:00 am on the May 5, armed Czech resistance fighters overwhelm the Waffen-SS defending the radio buildings. The radio announcer broadcast a call to the Czech nation rise up and asked the people in the streets of Prague to build barricades. Elsewhere, Czech resistance fighters occupied the Gestapo and Sipo Headquarters.

In the afternoon of May 5, the Prague mayor formally switched allegiance to the National Committee in the City Hall. The Czechs in the streets tore down the German road traffic signs and store inscriptions. They attacked any Germans within sight and seized their weapons. The Germans retaliated as best as they could.

In the hours that are left of May 5th, the insurgent’s or anti-fascists’ camp learned of the Nazi’s intent to eliminate the uprising by using a very heavily armed attack from the outside, in which the intent was to join up with the local Nazi forces that were inside the city. The news reaches Prague of tanks, armored carriers, weaponry and motorized Nazi units that were heading for the capital city. However, in the evening hours of May 5, the balance of power between the anti-fascists and the Nazi power started to change. After a phase of dominance of the ant-fascists in the beginning of the uprising, a phase of stabilization begins, which was also an equalization of power.^[6]

By the morning of May 6, over a thousand barricades were erected. Czech resistance troops had managed to seize half of the city before the Germans reacted in force. German garrisons throughout Prague were surrounded. The insurgents forced the besieged Germans to surrender by cutting off their electricity, water supplies, and telephone wires. Prague experienced a rash of anti-German excesses, while some Germans, mainly the SS, took revenge on the Czech non-combatants.

[edit] German counter-attack

German forces outside of Prague started to move toward the city center in order to relieve their trapped countrymen. The other objective of these German forces was the capture of the railroad and highway communication network. Possession of these vital transportation links would secure free passage westwards to the American lines for the German Army (Wehrmacht) troops of Army Group Center.

During May 6, the Germans attempted to recapture the radio station building. As the German advance ran into significant resistance, both in the building itself and at the barricades in nearby streets, the Germans decided to use bombers instead. This attack was a success. However, the Czech resistance managed to continue to broadcast its message from another location.

With news that Americans were already in Pilsen, hopes were initially high about their tanks reaching Prague soon. But the insurgents were not aware of the demarcation line agreement between the Americans and the Soviets some 70 km west of Prague. The Czech radio appeals to the United States Army remained unanswered. Insurgents also did not know where the Red Army might be at the time and the German military pressure was increasing.

[edit] The SS attack

On May 7, Waffen-SS armoured and artillery units stationed outside of Prague, frustrated by the lack of decisive progress made by the Heer infantry, launched several furious tank attacks on the city defenders. The situation was grave. The Waffen-SS started to use their heavy equipment and even the feared Luftwaffe air raids were launched on Prague. Many downtown historical landmarks were bombed. In the next hours, the German occupation forces gradually overwhelmed the Czech fighters. The resistance had only a few anti-tank weapons to counter German tanks. In addition, their ammunition was running out.

[edit] The ROA defection

At this crucial moment, a division of the anti-communist Russian Liberation Army (ROA, also known as "Vlasov Army") under the command of General Sergei Bunyachenko turned on the Germans and joined Czech insurgents in the fight against the Waffen-SS. Unlike the Czech forces, these forces were relatively well equipped (including armoured vehicles and artillery) and experienced veterans of the Eastern Front. However, ROA did not plan to stay in Prague during the entire uprising. Vlasov did not have the full support of the Czech leaders and he was afraid that they would betray him and his soldiers to the approaching Soviets. Thus, the Russian soldiers soon left the city in order to try to reach the American lines.

[edit] German retreat

On May 8, faced with no arriving allied help and the imminent destruction of the city, the insurgents were forced to negotiate, and accepted the German terms presented by General Rudolf Toussaint, the German Military Governor. It called for the immediate capitulation and unhindered passage of German forces, including civilians, through Prague. In return, Prague would not be destroyed. Although the compromise seemed to give the Germans most of what they wanted, the Czechs were confident that Germans would not have enough time to benefit from it.

[edit] Liberation

On May 9, 1945, the Soviet Red Army arrived in Prague. U.S. Army units had been closer to Prague than Soviets, and their reconnaissance units were already present in Prague suburbs when the uprising begun. However, the Americans did not help the Czech insurgents. Instead they overlooked the uprising, and all carnage that followed.

[edit] Participants

[edit] Czechs

• Czech citizens who were from the proletariat and bourgeoisie participated as the anti-fascists or the opponents to the Germans during the uprising. They both agreed that the goal of the anti-fascist front was to release the republic from German control. However, in the spring of 1945, the proletariat were organizations and groups composed of honest patriots that carried out a real struggle against fascism. In contrast, the bourgeoisie were groups made up of people who during the entire period of German occupation had absolutely nothing in common with the actual fight against fascism, but as soon as they felt that fascist rule was finally coming to an end, they tried to bring about a “coup” that would benefit the group.^[7]
• Czech insurgents were the ethnic Czech residents of Prague, forced to work for the Nazis. Although spared most of the horrors of war like the draft and massive air raids, they despised anything German and were the first to rise spontaneously without waiting for political orders. Lacking military training, they armed themselves with small arms captured from the Germans. They fought surprisingly well trying to hinder the superior German forces by an extensive network of hastily established street barricades. Their tactics of blocking the German movement proved successful and their main goal of demonstrating Czech resistance was reached. However, it was a close call, in which every single hour counted. Thanks to them, Prague liberated itself before the arrival of the Soviets. The Czech National Council, led by Otakar Machotka and loyal to President Edvard Beneš in London, represented them in negotiations. The participating communists stayed loyal to their provisional government in Košice, Slovakia.
• Puppet government forces: police, the customs, and other security forces of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Comprised mostly of native Czechs and controlled by the Gestapo, they turned their weapons and equipment against the Germans they were supposed to protect. Although no match for the well-trained German military, they voluntarily handed over large part of their small arms stockpile and communication equipment to the insurgents. They were supposed to guard Prague against the internal enemy, but in reality faced their former allies attacking from outside. Formerly considered traitors by the Czech civilians and now by the Germans, they had no escape route and had to fight, come what may.

[edit] Germans

• German civilians residing in Prague, administrators, officials, and family members of the German military were the easiest targets of Czech anger. They had to flee by any means, including stolen vehicles, in order to save bare lives. Many useless cruelties were committed on both sides as some Germans, mainly the SS, took revenge on the Czech non-combatants.
• Regular German army was actually trapped both inside and outside Prague. They found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. They needed the huge Prague communication network to move west in order to surrender to the Americans. Superior in numbers, equipment and training, they were pressed only by time. However, the signing of the Surrender Act with the Czech National Council by their commander, General Toussaint, may be considered only a partial victory, as only a minor part of German forces passed westward. Some units were even supposed to suppress the SS, their ally, which refused to cease fire.
• Waffen-SS units were considered the best equipped, trained, and motivated of all German forces. They mostly consisted of Kampfgruppe Wallenstein that was created by the units from SS-Truppenübungsplatz Böhmen, a large training area near Benešov. There were two main units created, each with one leader. They had the strength of four regiments and accompanied by small number of artillery and armored vehicles. As the most fanatical of the German units, they had the most to lose. In case of capture they expected (and received) no mercy. They did not honor the signed Surrender Act and considered all those, who did, traitors. Their last remains were mopped up by the Red Army in the woods southwest of Prague as late as May 11.

[edit] Others

Mass grave of two generals and 187 unknown soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army in Prague cemetery

• Red Army arrived unexpectedly in Prague on May 9, took the city, ended the conflict, and paved the way for the Czech government to arrive from both East and West. As the people welcomed Soviet tanks, the last German units were leaving the city under the Surrender Act terms. Although the Allied military command reserved Prague for the Red Army to secure, the insurgents were unaware of the Soviet move to assist them to the very last moment and signed the capitulation 13 hours before the first Soviet tanks approached the city from the north. Some 30 Soviet soldiers were killed in the nearest vicinity of the Prague.
• Russian Liberation Army, Russian and Ukrainian nationalists recruited in the prisoner of war camps to help the Germans fight the Red Army, but in the end they turned their German weapons against the Nazis. These Russian-speaking troops were often mistaken for the Red Army. However, they fought well and saved the uprising at the crucial hours. They did help Prague when it needed most, but for the price of three hundred ROA soldiers who were killed in the fighting against the SS. In spite of that, the communists in the Czech National Council refused to accept them as allies and considered them fighters by their own choice. Most were later captured by the Red Army and taken to Siberian Gulag labour camps. In 1946 General Andrey Vlasov and the other captured ROA leaders, including General Bunyachenko, were executed for treason in Moscow.
• United States Army forces were forced by politicians to play a passive role due to the previous agreement establishing the demarcation line. Although they were able to reach Prague in few hours, the Red Army command insisted upon strict adherence to the established positions, disregarding the actual situation in Prague. American General George S. Patton was wanted and expected in Prague by everybody but the communists, yet he was not allowed to move, even when his reconnaissance units were reported a mere 20 km south of Prague. In any case, a U.S. Army mission was sent all the way, to eastern Bohemia in order to persuade Field Marshall Ferdinand Schörner to surrender. On the way, the U.S. Army negotiators stopped in Prague and helped persuade General Toussaint, the German military commander in Prague, to offer his capitulation.
• Prisoners of war from the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) were mistaken for war criminals by the local Czech population and the Red Army, which resumed their hostilities on the surrendered Estonian troops regardless of their intentions. The Estonians had been forcefully drafted into the Waffen SS membership, had received no special training apart from the regular military drill and had committed no war crimes. In what the veterans of the Estonian Division, who had laid their weapons down in May 1945 recall as the 'Czech Hell', the local people chased, humiliated and tortured the Waffen SS troopers, murdering 500–1000. Major Paul Maitla was the most well-known among the victims.^{[8][9][10][11]}

[edit] Casualties

Since the most organized basis for an uprising is to have it lead by an armed struggle, there will usually be many casualties.^[12] During the uprising in Prague 1,694 Czechs were killed and another 1,600 seriously wounded. Almost 1,000 German Soldiers were killed. The number of German civilian casualties is unknown. The Vlasov Army lost 300 men. On May 9, the Red Army casualties amounted to 500 killed.^[13] However, many other victims were never identified. It is to this date unclear who exactly killed the Czechs who died. It is possible that not only Germans were responsible, but that Czechs fought between themselves in a settling of scores between loyalists and collaborators, and communists and democrats.

[edit] See also

• Slovak National Uprising

[edit] References

• Roučka, Zdeněk. Skončeno a podepsáno: Drama Pražského povstání (Accomplished And Signed: Pictures of the Prague Uprising), 163 pages, Plzeň: ZR&T, 2003 (ISBN 80-238-9597-4).
• Bartosek, Karel. 1965. The Prague Uprising. Prague, Czech Republic: Artia.
• Skilling, Gordon H. “The Czechoslovak Struggle for National Liberation in World War II.” Dec. 1960. The Slavonic and East European Review. 39: 174-197. Retrieved March 11, 2009 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/4205225.pdf)

[edit] External links

• Czechoslovakia marks 56th anniversary of liberation, Český rozhlas, 2001
• "Calling all Czechs, calling all Czechs!" - the Prague Uprising remembered, Czech Radio, 12-05-2004
• Czechs commemorate Prague revolt, BBC News, 5 May, 2005
• Prague's war: Legacy of questions - Historians still debate myths and mysteries of the liberation, The Prague Post, May 5, 2005
• (Czech) Picture gallery of Prague uprising — a gallery located at the official website of The Prague City Archives

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