Military Tour of Prague

[DonC]

Hi All -

Took a group of students to Prague over ltheir spring break this year and visited some great TR-related sites. I'll be posting pics here... First up is non-TR, but Cold-War related. A (fuzzy) pic of the giant plinth where a huge statue of Stalin was erected after the war. It stood where the metronome now stands on the cliffs above the Vltava (Moldau) river. The sculptor committed suicide soon after it was comp0leted, and then Kuruschev had it blown up only a few years later. The plinth is still there. Not as good as standing on Lenin's Mausoleum, but it has to do til I get to Moscow...

Don

[DonC]

Next up, the Hradschin castle, familiar to those of you withthe "Prager Burg" spanges on your Czech Annexation medals and ribbons. It was from here that Heydrich governed Czechslovakia.

Don

[DonC]

Here's a photo of the main gate to Prague Castle. Heydrich's body lay in state at the castle for several days after he died of his wounds from the assasination. The artillery caisson with his body on it was taken out of the courtyard and across Charles Bridge tot he train station where it was sent to Berlin.

[DonC]

Here's a T-34/85 at the entrance to the Czech Army Museum.

[DonC]

Artillery inside the CAM... Made by Skoda!

[DonC]

Something for our SS collectors out there...

[DonC]

There was an entire display on the main floor dedicated to Heydrich's assasination, inlcuding this mock-up of his staff car (correct body style, but his was actually green).

[DonC]

Grille...

[DonC]

Here's a gruesome one (one of several) - this is either Josef Gabcik or Jan Kubis' shirt that they wore when the SS trapped them in the vault of Sts. Cyril and Methodius church. Also his pistol. The commandos took their own lives rather than be captured.

[DonC]

This was the highllight of the museum for me - an Infantry Schellenbaum! It was behind glass, so the photo is not so hot, but WOW!!!


Don

[DonC]

This next one has a story. I hiked up to where Heydrich was assasinated, which is a HIKE, I mean to tell you, from the last metro stop! Anywho, I was using as my guide an After the Battle article form the late seventies or early eighties. I knew that the street I needed was Rudy Armady, but I couldn't find it anywhere, even though I was passing stores and buildings I could recognize from the pictures in ATB. Finally, by sheer luck I wandered right up to the EXACT SPOT, (see the smokestack in the background of the following pictures) wondering how the hell I got there with no Rudy Armady in sight. THAT's when I realized that Rudy Armady means, of course, "Red Army" in Czech, and that the street had been renamed Zenklova as soon as the Velvet Revolution occured!

[DonC]

The corner of the street is where the bomb went off next to Heydrich's Mercedes. The arrow on the street is in almost the perfect position to point out where the bomb exploded. It used to be a hairpin curve, but the Czechs softened the curve post-war. The site was chosen because Heydrich's car would have had to come to almost a complete stop here to make the turn - he was a sitting duck.

[DonC]

Another view - the smokestack and the building both date from the period - that's how I knew I was in the right place!

[herrgeezer]

Thanks Don. Very interesting shots along with your commentary.

[DonC]

Here's the exterior (streetside) of Sts Cyrill and Methodius, with the memorial to the Czechs who perished. The bullet-pocked facade is really quite moving. I believe the small alcove is where the SS forced in water hoses to flood the crypt.