Bloody Sunday was a massacre on 25 August 1968 when

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

soldiers shot three unarmed civilians in

Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

during

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

. Nine others were injured.

Events

On 20 August 1968 armies of five states of

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

invaded Czechoslovakia starting occupation of the country. On 25 August 1968 at 20 pm a large column of Soviet army was passing from

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

through Prostějov. Soldiers got strayed in streets of Prostějov as Czechoslovaks were modifying or removing traffic markings to disorient Soviets. Soviets passed through centre of town but due to missing signs they turned wrong way and circled around the city returning back on the access road from Olomouc. Soviet soldiers started to become nervous due to being disoriented. Near the soldiers started shooting around, even though streets were full of people. Shooting resulted in blown-out shop windows, damaged facades of houses and death of three people.

Aftermath

The funeral services for the three people killed occurred on 29 August 1968. Thousands of people gathered in the center of the city for the funeral. Some were holding banners demanding the departure of the occupiers and condemnation of the shooting. The massacre was never investigated and Soviets called story of massacre a fabrication. It is unknown what caused the massacre and people who were shooting were never found.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloody Sunday Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia 1968 in Czechoslovakia Massacres in the Czech Republic Prostějov