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may 9th 1945 plaque to 11 year old pepicek smejkal

May 9th

May 9th 1945 Memorials Look at any English language text books and they’ll all say that World War Two in Europe ended on May 8th so how unlucky was it to be killed on that day or even the day after. The Czech Republic has a state holiday on May 8th to commemorate the end … Read More

postcard showing the soviet tankers memorial tank 23 in prague

Tank 23

Tank 23 – Memorial to Soviet Tank Crews The story goes that on the morning of May 9th 1945, Soviet Red Army tanks entered Prague (fun fact – there is a memorial that marks where they crossed the Prague border in what was then the village of Liboc in Prague 6). The first tank was … Read More

the courtyard of zbiroh castle and entry to the castle pub.

Zbiroh Castle

Trips from Prague, Zbiroh Castle There are several reasons for visiting Zbiroh not least for the surrounding countryside hiking experiences but the Castle/Chateau is fairly unknown to tourists. It has an interesting history so if you are driving between Prague and Plzen it might be worth a stop especially if you are a Slav Epic … Read More

The Plaque to Thomas Vokes and William Greig on the Na Smetance School in the Prague vinohrady district

Thomas Vokes and William Greig

Thomas Vokes and William Greig, Scottish Heroes of the Prague Uprising On May 5th 2021 a memorial plaque was unveiled at the Na Smetance primary school in the Prague 2nd District of Vinohrady. Strangely it commemorated two British soldiers called Thomas Vokes and William Greig who fought with the Czechs during the Prague Uprising exactly … Read More

split graphic with a black and white picture of a cross on the left and on the rights taken through a wire fence are spray painted scenes of life in the gypsy camp 1

The Pig Farm

The Pig Farm Before you read this post you might like to get the necessary background by reading the Roma Internment in World War Two post. In 1992 an American journalist called Paul Polansky was in the regional Czech town of Trebon researching the 19th century emigration of Czechs to the USA and found that … Read More

President Emil Hacha of Czechoslovakia seated at a table speaking into a microphone

Emil Hacha

Czech Presidents, Emil Hacha and the Poison Chalice When you take a look at Czech history especially in the 20th Century you’ll find lots of references to Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (the first President of Czechoslovakia) or Edvard Beneš (longest serving Foreign Minister and second President of Czechoslovakia). Then we have a third President called Emil … Read More

memorial plaque in prague for tank guards lieutenant ivan goncarenko of the red army

Ivan Gončarenko

Ivan Gončarenko Every now and again I start researching an apparently simple story which takes you in different unexpected directions. The story of a death of a soldier is not uncommon in Prague. It’s how he died, when and where, where he was buried then, where he’s buried now and how he came to be … Read More

plaque on a wall in prague dedicated to pavel lion 1930-1944

The Terezin Ghetto Editors

The Terezin Ghetto Editors It’s December 1941 and the Nazis had begun the deportation of the Jewish community from all parts of the Protectorate (what Czech was called during WW2) to the new internment camp called the Terezin Ghetto. By the summer of 1942 conditions were getting worse with overcrowding and the Jewish Council in … Read More

pre-ww2 czech roma id card used during ww2 roma internment

WW2 Roma Internment

WW2 Roma Internment In World War Two a group of people were racially profiled, segregated, interned, transported, tattooed and executed. But this isn’t a story about Jewish people. In England we might know them as travellers, some people call them gypsies but in Czech they are called Roma. As far back as 1933, Adolf Hitler … Read More

black and white picture of the ocean liner ss patria in 1918 with three funnels plus fore and aft masts

SS Patria Disaster

SS Patria Disaster A trans-Atlantic liner called the SS Patria sank on 25th November 1940 at the port of Haifa in what was then Palestine. You’re thinking what the hell as this got to do with Prague? Well for me it all started with a photo. In 2015 I was preparing to start my Walking … Read More