Current Affairs Long-lost photos document terrible aftermath of US air raid on Prague
Sixty-five-years ago, shortly after midday on February 14th, 1945, a fleet of 62 U.S. Air Force bombers dropped their deadly cargo on Prague in the mistaken belief they’d reached their intended target Dresden. A total of 701 civilians were killed and dozens of buildings – including Prague’s largest synagogue - were destroyed. As soon as the all-clear sounded a Red Cross photographer named Stanislav Maršál went out into the streets to document the aftermath; he was so traumatised by what he saw that he hid the photos away for sixty years. Now, five years after his death, the photographs are being shown for the first time, at an exhibition in Prague’s New Town Hall, where we spoke to Stanislav Maršál’s daughter Jana.
Prague, February 14th, 1945
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