Ploština was a small settlement in what is today the municipality of
Drnovice in the
Zlín Region of the
Czech Republic. On 19 April 1945, at the end of
World War II, it was burned and its people were massacred by
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in response to their support of the
anti-Nazi resistance movement. The massacre was conducted by the German special
SS unit ''Zur besonderen Verwendung-Kommando Nr. 31'', led by Walter Pawlofski, and by the SS anti-partisan unit ''Josef'' consisting of members of Slovak
Hlinka-Guard,
whose headquarters was in
Vizovice
Vizovice (; german: Wisowitz) is a town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Administrative part ...
.
Twenty-four people were burned alive, three more people were executed, and one person was tortured to death during interrogation.
Background
After the unsuccessful
Slovak National Uprising, part of the resistance movement centered in
Moravian Wallachia.
Partisans formed armed groups along with local volunteers under Soviet commanders. They searched for help from villagers from surrounding settlements, who provided them with food, shelter, and basic treatment, and sometimes even helped them with military actions. The unit operating near Ploština was, however, infiltrated by
Gestapo confidants and traitors who informed Nazis about the collaboration.
This led to the punitive action conducted by Nazis on 19 April 1945, a few days before the end of
World War II. According to Božena Húšťová, a witness whose brother was killed during the massacre, the men were forced to enter burning houses after a detonation of hidden ammunition in one of the houses. Those who attempted to escape were shot.
A similar tragedy occurred on 23 April 1945 in the nearby village of
Prlov
Prlov is a municipality and village in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants.
Prlov lies approximately south of Vsetín
Vsetín () is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has a ...
, where fifteen people were burned, three hanged and one shot. The last Nazi punitive action occurred in the settlement Vařákovy Paseky on 2 and 3 May 1945. Four people were killed and eight houses burned.
SS-Mann
''Mann'' ( en, "man" or "male"), was a paramilitary rank used by several Nazi Party paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the ''Schutzstaffel'' (''SS-Mann''), but also was a rank of the SA, wh ...
Werner Tutter (1909–1983), a commander of the unit ''Josef'' during the massacre in Ploština, was sentenced to six years in prison in 1948. While serving his sentence, he was contacted by the
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Czechoslovak State Security Service (StB). In 1953, he became an agent of StB and worked for Communist Czechoslovakia in
West Germany, under the code name Konrad II.
His criminal past was revealed again in 1962, but the investigation was interrupted and Tutter died as an honorable German citizen in 1983.
Legacy
Ladislav Mňačko
Ladislav Mňačko (28 January 1919 in Valašské Klobouky – 24 February 1994 in Bratislava) was a Slovak writer and journalist. He took part in the partisan movement in Slovakia during World War II. After the war, he was at first a staunc ...
, writer and a member of the partisan group ''"Ploština"'', described this tragedy in his book ''Death Is Called Engelchen''.
The topic was also developed in the 1963 Czechoslovak war film ''
Death Is Called Engelchen'', directed by
Ján Kadár
Ján Kadár (1 April 1918 – 1 June 1979) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian-born Slovak film writer and director of History of the Jews in Hungary, Jewish heritage.
As a filmmaker, he worked in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Canada. ...
and
Elmar Klos
Elmar Klos (26 January 1910 – 19 July 1993) was a Czech film director who collaborated for 17 years with his Slovak colleague Ján Kadár and with him won the 1965 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for the film ''The Shop on Main Street' ...
.
A memorial was built on the site of the former Ploština settlement. It has been a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
See also
*
Lidice
*
Ležáky
References
Further reading
*
External links
National Cultural Monument Ploština– Museum of Southeast Moravia in
Zlín
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plostina
Former villages in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Zlín District
Nazi war crimes in Czechoslovakia
World War II massacres
World War II sites in the Czech Republic
Collective punishment
Violence against men in Europe
Mass murder in 1945