This study takes a look at a nearly unknown chapter in the history of the relations between the Czechs and the Germans: the uprising of the underground movement under the leadership of the Czech National Council against the German occupiers on May 5, 1945. The American army was already in Pilsen, and the Russian army was on its way toward Prague. The poorly prepared uprising was meant to consummate the independence and self-liberation of the Czech people, but without the about-face and the intervention of the Wlassow army to help the insurgents, the uprising would surely have been squelched. On the evening of May 8 the German troops left Prague and the vicinities, and two days later the Russian army marched into Prague.Stanislav Kokoka's study gives a precise description of the uprising against the dramatic background of the events of that time, and puts it in a frame of reference of both the German and Allied political and military strategy.

Autorentext
Stanislav Kokoka, geb. 1959, Studium der Geschichte an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Karls-Universität, 1982 Mitarbeiter im Zentralen Staatsarchiv in Prag, 1990 wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Historischen Institut der Streitkräfte, seit 1999 Leiter der Abteilung für die Geschichte des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Besatzung und Widerstand am Institut für Zeitgeschichte der tschechischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Leseprobe
This study illuminates an relatively unknown chapter in the history of Germany and the Czech Republic: the uprising of the resistance movement under the leadership of the Czech National Assembly against the German occupiers on 5 May 1945 as the American army was just entering the Pilsen area and the Soviet army was already marching on Prague. The poorly prepared uprising was intended to demonstrate the political independence and self-emancipation of the Czech people, but would have suffered serious defeat without the about-face and intervention of Vlasov's army on the side of the insurgents. On the evening of 8 May 1945 the German troops withdrew from Prague and surroundings, and two days later the Red Army marched into the city. This volume by Stanislav Kokoska describes precisely the uprising as well as the drama of the entire events, and embeds them in the contect of the German and Allied political and military strategy.