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Czech BooksCharles Ota Heller: a soldier at the age of nine
In the last days of World War II, nine-year-old Ota Heller picked up a
revolver and fired it at a German soldier. He did not wait to see if the
man was still alive. For decades afterwards he talked to no one about the
experience, and only recently has Ota Heller – or Charles Ota Heller, as
he is now called – felt able to return to his memories of the war,
collecting them in his book “Out of Prague”. In this week’s Czech
Books he talks to David Vaughan. More
Czech HistoryNew website presents the life and sacrifice of Jan Palach
It was one of the most remarkable single acts in Czechoslovak history, one
that still today evokes mingled shock and admiration. Now the documents,
reports, essays and films relating to the self-immolation of Jan Palach -
five months after the invasion of his country by Warsaw Pact forces – is
available to the public through a new website launched to commemorate the
life and sacrifice of the young activist. More
From the ArchivesA. J. P. Taylor: faith in socialist Czechoslovakia
A. J. P. Taylor (1906-1990) was one of the best-known and most influential
British historians of the 20th century. He is remembered in particular for
his provocative left-wing political views and his conviction that German
history made the country uniquely inclined towards aggression and
expansionism. This made him an ardent opponent of attempts to rebuild
Germany’s economy after the war, and a strong supporter of
Czechoslovakia’s growing alliance with the Soviet Union. In July 1946,
just after elections which saw the Communists emerge as the strongest
single party, Taylor visited Czechoslovakia. More
From the ArchivesA bizarre speech by an ailing president
The wartime president of occupied Bohemia and Moravia, Emil Hácha, is one
of the saddest figures of Czech twentieth century history. An elderly
academic, he only agreed reluctantly to become head of state after Edvard
Benes resigned over the Munich Agreement in 1938. He made the tragic
mistake of remaining in office when Hitler marched into the country six
months later. Hácha’s hopes of preserving at least some of his
country’s independence were gradually worn down, and as his health
failed, he eventually became nothing but a puppet of the Gestapo. More
Current AffairsKoh-i-noor - a tale of two brothers, a famous painting, and the Holocaust
Two years ago, representatives of 46 governments gathered at the former
Nazi concentration camp in Terezín, an hour’s drive north of Prague.
Among the many pledges contained within the pages of the Terezín
Declaration was a promise to expedite the return of private property seized
from Jews during the Holocaust and still not returned. Many descendants,
however, are still waiting to get their family's property back. More
Czech HistoryEmanuel Moravec – the face of Czech collaboration with the Nazis
Some figures are cast as heroes and others as villains. Emanuel Moravec -
the face, voice and main force behind Czech collaboration with the
occupying Nazis during WWII - unmistakeably belongs to the latter category.
For his actions he became dubbed ‛the Czech Quisling’ – a reference
the more famous Norwegian collaborator. In this week’s Czechs in History,
Chris Johnstone explores Moravec’s complex character and path to
collaboration. More
From the ArchivesAfter Heydrich: demonstrations for and against the Reich
We ended the last series of From the Archives at one of the darkest moments
in Czech history, when on June 10 1942 the Nazis destroyed the village of
Lidice. This was a cruel and arbitrary retribution for the assassination of
Reinhard Heydrich, the so-called Reichsprotektor of occupied Bohemia and
Moravia. Many people had given shelter to the Czechoslovak patriots
parachuted from London to carry out the assassination, and the Nazis took
extreme measures to cow the Czech nation into submission. More
From the ArchivesRadio under the Swastika
In last week’s From the Archives, we heard how German troops marched into
Prague on March 15 1939. The next day, Edvard Beneš, who had resigned as
Czechoslovakia’s president in the wake of the Munich Agreement, and was
in exile in London, told Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
that from now on, he would be leading the resistance against the German
occupation. Five months later, war broke out and at the end of 1939 the BBC
began its broadcasts in Czech. More
From the ArchivesOccupation and betrayal
Sixty-nine years ago this week, on March 14 1939, the Czechoslovak
President Emil Hácha spoke to the nation. He had just returned from
Berlin, where Hitler had given him a simple ultimatum: face either
occupation or destruction. Hácha chose occupation: More
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