Czech Hell ( et, Tšehhi põrgu) was an episode of

vigilante justice Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

during the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

and the

Prague Uprising The Prague uprising ( cs, Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of oc ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in May 1945. It involved the imprisonment and

summary executions Summary may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written w ...

of 500−1,000 unarmed soldiers and officers of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian).

Background

The provisional government of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed in

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of a ...

on 5 April 1945. The

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

seized a third of the national government, including the ministries of

the Interior , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Interior" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivi ...

and

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

. Vengeful attitudes countenanced by the communists led to massive vigilante justice against former personnel of the German armed forces after the German capitulation. The surrendered German troops included thousands of officers and soldiers of the Estonian Division initially based around Hirschberg im Riesengebirge and Schönau an der Katzbach. They had been forcibly drafted into the ''Waffen SS'' and had received no special training apart from regular military drills; it is also alleged that they did not commit war crimes.

Action

The Estonian Division received orders on 7 May to retreat, assemble in

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; german: Gablonz an der Neiße) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 45,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glas ...

, move on through Prague in the direction of Plzeň and eventually surrender to the United States armed forces. Its headquarters and supply train began to retreat on the same day. Its units began to retreat the day after that. Czech partisans demanded that the German units surrender their arms, which the Estonians did. Subsequently, the partisans chased down and took some of the unarmed men prisoner, then tortured and humiliated them. The partisans did not differentiate between

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

n nationals, who had been illegally

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

, and the German forces. The number of men killed has been estimated as 500−1000, but the actual number is unknown. Soldiers who had been in the custody of Czech partisans were reportedly relieved to be handed over to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

Background

Action

References

Further reading