SudetenGermanInferno Bodies of murderedGermans in Prag,June 1945
The hushed-uptragedy of theethnic Germans inCzechoso!a"ia by
Ingomar PustReproduced From TheSuperb Web SiteTheScriptorium Like
the Jews duringthe Middle Ages and the NSregime, the Sudeten
Germans wereforced to wear an identifyingmark ("N" = "Nemec" =
"German"in !u"lic#
$%&'(%&)As we stand at the threshold of a new
millennium, we look "ack on what is !erha!s the most terri"le
century in the history of mankind#A cha!ter in its own right is the
e*!ulsion of the Sudeten Germans from their homeland# +heirs was
ancestral German land which had "een inha"ited "y their German
fore"ears for at least,,--- years (. and of which their centuries
of hard work and diligence had wrought a !aradise#/n time, 01echs
trickled into the region, and soon the in2aders tyranni1ed and
o!!ressed the good3natured Sudeten Germans, with the intent to
eradicate them, as the following accounts clearlyshow4"+he district
!hysician of Graslit1, a district with a !o!ulation of ,5,---,
re!orts officially and on his !rofessional res!onsi"ility4 "lack
"arley3malt coffee without milk or cream is the food that "a"ies
are gi2en, and older children get coffee, "read and !otatoes# +he
children are undernourished and anemic# +hey ha2e no clothes#
'ntire families li2e in cram!ed holes where the floor is the only
!lace to slee!#"/n winter there is no coal with which to heat#
Mother, gi2e me some water, /6m so hungry, "eg the children 3 and
the !hysician (who clearly feels that this will !erha!s "e
dis"elie2ed says that he can take it on his oath that this is a
direct 7uote, and that there was cause for it# /n one family of si*
3 !arents, three children and a mother3in3law 3 the family mem"ers
literally go naked# +hey ha2e neither stockings nor shoes, nor
shirts# +hey li2e on "lack coffee for "reakfast, sou! for lunch,
and there is no su!!er#+hey are slowly "ut surely dying out# /n the
Adlerge"irge mountains the !eo!le su!!lement their "read with tree
"ark, while the go2ernment orders tons of grain dum!ed into the
Moldau ri2er to kee! the !rices from dro!!ing# A large !art of the
!o!ulation has "een eating cats and dogs#" (,And what was the
!u"lic res!onse to this8 "'m"arrassed silence a"road,and at home,
2ile incitement against all those who allegedly sullied the 01ech
nation6s re!utation with their warnings#"Now it was clear that the
Sudeten Germans were su!!osed to "e wi!ed out, foreconomic
im!o2erishment !lus social ruination, !lus !olitical ho!elessness,
!lus national chau2inism on the !art of the 01echs, added u! to the
destruction of the essence of the Sudeten German ethnic grou!,
des!iteall Sudeten German efforts toward this off# +he systematic
dis!lacement of the Germans from the em!loyment scene resulted in a
catastro!hic dro! in the "irth rate#" (9+his is how matters stood
in the Sudetenland when it was forced to "ecome !art of
01echoslo2akia in .:.;# And if ut after the end of this de!lora"le
war, in .:?5, the ta"les once again turned to the disad2antage of
the unfortunate German !o!ulation, and the 01echs intheir
godlessness were sei1ed"y a "lood fren1y that could not !ossi"ly
ha2e "een any more gruesome#+hey must ha2e "een !ossessed "y the
de2il4 who else could ha2e guided their hands as they cele"rated
slaughter feasts and into*icated themsel2es with orgies of murder8
(hose 2oice was it that ranted from the li!s of their 6men of
God64"=ou can kill the Germans, that6s no sin@" (ere those God6s
words8 Surely not# / myself heard such a call to mass murder as it
was "eing !reached from the !ul!its of the German churches "y the
01ech 6ser2ants of God6 in those days#+he 01ech Aresident 'duard
>enes, "ack from e*ile in London, incited the already3cra1ed
!o!ulation 2ia the radio4 "+ake e2erything from the Germans, lea2e
them only a handkerchief to wee! into@" /n Arague Germans were hung
head3down from the lam! !osts and set on fireas li2ing torches in
>enes6s honor# '2er since, the num"er of 2ictims has "een cited
as ,5-,---# "$iles from the S>BCGerman )emocratic &e!u"lic
which were not accessi"le until .::- showed that this figure was
actually much higher and must now "e set at no less than ?D-,---#"
(?And now, half a century later,a "New %rder" is to "e esta"lished#
%2er the decades, the Sudeten Germans6 suffering was mentioned less
and less, untilfinally the to!ic was "anishedinto the darkest
corner of history6s "room closet "y the German go2ernment itself#
+his go2ernment now su!!orts the 01ech &e!u"lic6sadmission to
NA+%E it reassures the 01echs that theSudeten German e*!ellees make
no claim for restitution,and the 01echs need not e2en renounce
their Mr# >enes6s disgraceful decrees# +hat is nothing less than
legitimati1ed genocide, for in Fust one more generation there will
"e no more Sudeten Germans 3 the sur2i2ors ha2e "ecome assimilated
"y the rest of the German !o!ulation# At the same time the 01echs
grow e2er more "ra1en and e2en demand "restitution" from
theGermans@ $or what, is "eyond me# As though it were not enough
that they stole the land and the !eo!le6s wealth 3 goods of
inestima"le 2alue 3 they let this former gem of a region go to rack
and ruin and e2en want to "e !aid for it@%n this !utrefaction, a
"New %rder" is now to "e "uiltE on a foundation of unatoned3for
crimes, festering wounds, and the "itterness of the unfairly
treated@ And this is su!!osed to end well8 / dou"tit
will#A&%L%GG'Aro"a"ly all ci2ili1ed nations on earth agree on
one !oint4 man, the most intelligent "eing in 0reation, "ears sole
res!onsi"ility for e2erything that ha!!ens on our !lanet 3 with the
e*ce!tion of such acts of nature, of course, as are "eyond human
influence#And so our incarnation 3 or anthro!ogenesis, if the
reader !refers 3 "rought with it an unconditional cosmic morality
that !rogressed to cultural le2els whose degree and !romise 2aried
with the races and tri"es that s!rang u! in the course of
mankind6sde2elo!ment# (hile some !ursued their genetic im!etusto
the !innacle, others ha2e remained in s!iritual narrowness and
intellectual inade7uacy, at a stone3age le2el to this day# %thers
again, howe2er 3 !articularly tri"es and !eo!les that de2elo!ed in
a tradition of warlike 2iolence 3 ha2e retained incom!rehensi"le
sadism, inhuman cruelty as indestructi"le and unfortunate
characteristics#/n the si*th century A#)# the 01echs ad2anced into
0entral 'uro!e in the footste!s of theAwars, without at first
forming a unified tri"e or nation# '2en today the !hysical
a!!earance of many 01echs re2eals their genetic mi*ing with the
Awars# >ut the "estialities engaged in "y their o!!ressors is
another factor of which they were ne2er a"le to rid themsel2es
com!letely# '2en once they had "egun to de2elo! their own ethnicity
they continued to manifest these inherited 2ices# Aarticularly
since the ut were the !eo!le in Arague, (arsaw and
>elgradecalled to a2enge the Jewish fate on innocent Germans8
(as it right to s!eak of "li"eration" and then to eradicate entire
!o!ulation grou!s8 +o e*!el .5 million !eo!le from their
homes8Aeo!le utterly ignorant of history try to e*cuse that
eru!tion of hatred with the su!!ression of 01ech so2ereignty#
>ut if that were a 2ia"le argument, then the Sudeten Germans
could well also ha2e massacred the 01echs in .:9;E they had "een
de!ri2ed of their own so2ereignty and their right to
self3determination for not se2en, "ut ,- years# Ne2ertheless they
did the 01echs no harm whatsoe2er in .:9;#/f su!!ression of
so2ereignty were really to Fustify "estial genocide, then the South
+yroleans as well would ha2e the moral "right" to slit their
/talian masters6 throats# $or some D- years now they too ha2e "een
de!ri2ed of their so2ereignty and their right to
self3determination#S'L$3)'+'&M/NA+/%N)&%(N') /N >L%%)+he
tragedy of the Sudeten Germans "egan D- years ago, with the
colla!se of the multinational Austro3ut then the incom!rehensi"le
ha!!ened# %n 01ech orders, 01echs in uniform shot at those gathered
together# +he crashing of hand grenades accom!anied the sal2os of
gunfire and the screams of those mortally wounded 3 5? dead and
hundreds of inFuredremained lying in the streets#Among the !laces
where this ha!!ened were Arnau, Aussig, 'ger, Iaaden, Mies,
Iarls"ad, Stern"erg and $reudenthal# +he 5? dead included ,- women
and girls, an ;-3year3old man, one youth of .D, one of .9 and one
only ele2en years old@ +his "loody e2ent that ought to ha2e shaken
the world to its foundations remained without echo#Later, to
Fustify the use of armed force, it was claimed that the 01ech
e*ecuti2e !owers had acted in sudden, ner2ous !anic# +hey had notE
they had acted on an order gi2en "y the Arague Ministry of the
/nterior, instructing them to !re2ent the !roclamations with force
of arms# +hat e*!lains the fact that the shooting of !artici!ants
in these demonstrations took !lace e2erywhere at almost e*actlythe
same time#/n this way, demonstrations that might ha2e attracted
world attention were to "e thwarted once and for all# Any attem!t
at e*ercising theright to self3determination drew immediate
gunfire# AfterMarch ?, another 59 Germansfell 2ictim to 01ech
"ullets# More than ,,--- gra2ely wounded were taken to hos!itals#
+hat was the "eginning of the sham democracy along the Moldau
&i2er ("Hlta2a"# +he cries forself3determination had "een
drowned in "lood#+he )ead of March ?,.:.:/n the following we record
thenames of the Sudeten Germans murdered on March ?, .:.: 3 shot "y
01ech officers for their "elief in theirright to
self3determination#Iilled on March ?, .:.:4 Age
(here333333333333333333333333 333 33333Anna Sachs, "rewery master6s
wife?. ArnauAloisia >audisch, la"orer .DArnau$ran1 Jarsch,
"utcher D-AussigJosef 0hristl, student.;'gerGrete &einl,
student.;'ger$ran1 Schneider, shoemaker 5, IaadenJosef (olf, day
la"orer5. Iaaden'rich >enesch, master s!inner9- IaadenAndreas
>enedikt, "aker?D Iaaden$ran1iska Aassler, tanner6s wife
?DIaadenAnna &ott, !lum"er6s wife?. IaadenMarie Biener,
seamstress .;IaadenArianne Sturm, seamstress,? IaadenIarl +au"er,
student.?IaadenLudmila )oleschal, seamstress,D IaadenLeo!oldine
Meder, dressmaker ,; IaadenIarl Lochschmid, student .. IaadenAaula
Schmiedl, student.5 Iaaden(ilhelm $igert, room !ainter ,,
Iaaden%skar Meier, a!!rentice.D IaadenJulie Schindler, ser2ant
girl.NIaaden>erta Meier, seamstress?- IaadenAloisia (e"er,
office assistant ,-IaadenMarie StKckl, la"orer ,9Iaaden$erdinand
Ium!e, day la"orer .5 Iaadenruno Schindler, la"orer D;
Stern"ergAmong the dead of March ? were ,- women and girls# +here
was one ;-3year3old, "ut also .D !ersons aged .: or younger, two of
them wereonly .?, one was .9 and one as young as ..@/n the time
from .:.; to .:,? another D9 Sudeten Germans lost their li2es in
this way# +hey came from (iesa3%"erleutensdorf, Gastdorf near
Leitmerit1, >rM*, Mora2ian +rM"au, Ia!lit1, Bnaim, Aress"urg,
$reudenthal, Arnau, %"las near Bnaim, Ailsen, Aohrlit1 inSouth
Mora2ia, Leitmerit1, /glau, Buckmantel, Asch, Aussig and
Graslit1#+erthold &u"in6s "ook O(ar )eutschland allein schuld4
)er (eg 1um Bweiten (eltkriegO# &u"in was historiogra!her at
the Gni2ersity of 0ologne#Aage ..,4 Meanwhile, the "Sudeten German
Aarty" continues to grow# +he Arague go2ernment6s !olicy of
su!!ression has as its result a consolidation of the Sudeten
Germans, who are firmly resol2ed to fend off thethreats to their
ethnic grou!# At the community elections on A!ril ,,, .:9;, the
Aarty wins :.#??P of all German 2otes# +wo days later, on A!ril,?,
the historic Aarty 0on2ention takes !lace in Iarls"ad, and Ionrad
enes6s note of May ,-, .:.:, as well as from theAeace 0onference6s
statements in this regard, and from the national treaty of St#
Germain of Se!tem"er .-, .:.:#/t is remarka"le that neither ritish
Am"assador in >erlin at that time, Sir enes, the 01echAresident
in e*ile in London4")ear Mr# Aresident@$or reasons / hardly need
s!ell out, / ha2e waited until this day to con2ey our resolutions
of June N, .:?,# Let me assure you that the recent terri"le e2ents
in our homeland ha2e greatly dismayed us as well# Nothing has
changed in our feelings offriendshi! towards the 01ech !eo!le, and
we mourn their casualties as though they were our own# $or this
reason/ ask you, Mr# Aresident, to !lease take note of our !rotest,
a transcri!t of which is enclosed# /t was announcedin a radio
"roadcast and is surely also made in the nameof our "est comrades,
who ha2e "een the target of harsh!ersecution since %cto"er .,
.:9;#ohemian and Mora2ian linguistic "order# +here are other ways
to atone for the Na1i crimes# +here will "e a reckoning3u! in the
Sudeten region as well 3 our dead, and the many thousands of our
"est men who sur2i2ed the horrors of the concentration cam!s, 2ouch
for that# Settling the account with the Na1is will offer no grounds
for the ine2ita"ly indiscriminate e*!ulsion of the !o!ulation
ofentire "order regions# A !o!ulation transfer would "e an
indiscriminate re2enge, and / wish to !ut this to you 7uite o!enly,
Mr# Aresident4 that would mean the destruction of any and all
foundations for democratic coo!eration for a generation to come#/n
light of these dangers it is not an easy decision for us toa"andon
the moral legacy of a long !eriod of national coo!eration#Many
things may "e forgottentoday, "ut the annals of history show that a
million Germans stood "y the 01ech !eo!le in the fateful years of
.:9N39;#+he fact that the 0atholics and the Land"und Aarty
ca!itulated after the colla!se of Austria warrants a more lenient
Fudgement if one considers how demorali1ing the attitude of large
01ech !arties was to the German !o!ulation# +he heroism of our
working !eo!le has madeu! for many of the weaknesses manifested in
other sectors of the acti2ist cam!# %ur !o!ulation can face the
01ech !eo!le with the clearest conscience in theworld# +heir
casualties, and the acti2ities they continue to!ursue des!ite
constant !ersecution, are !oints in their fa2or which cannot "e
ignored in drawing u! the final account of the "attle against
rMgel, +schechen und )eutsche, 2# ,, Munich, .:N?#+he same goes for
the shocking letter of (en1el Jaksch, the Sudeten German Social
)emocrat in e*ile, to )r# 'dward >enes, the 01ech
Aresident3in3e*ile residing in London#+he Stokes &e!ort
continues4"+here are 5. such cam!s in 01echoslo2akia, in which
thousands of !eo!le suffer and star2eE and when / say star2e, /
mean that literally@"/n Account No# ,;;, !# ?9. of)okumente 1ur
Austrei"ung der Sudetendeutschen (Munich4 Ar"eitsgemeinschaft1ur
(ahrung Sudetendeutscher /nteressen,.:5., )irector Aischel of
&okitnit1 writes4 "+he men who esca!ed death were sent"y the
01echs to hastily esta"lished concentration cam!s, 5. of them,
where they had to do hard la"or, fore*am!le underground mining,
with lousy rations and constant maltreatment#"A concentration cam!
inmate tells of the terrorism engagedin "y the 2ictorious Allies#
($rom )ie Hertrei"ung Sudetenlands .:?5C?D, >ad Nauheim, .:DN,
!# ,::# Josef 'ckert was one of thosemen whom the National
Socialists had thrown into concentration cam! )achau and for whom
li"eration cameon May ;, .:?5# rM*, and after "eing released from
the concentration cam! he hurried home to his nati2e city, which he
had not seen for many years# Later he wrote one of his
fellow3sufferers from )achau4"+he 01echs came to our city as
a2engers dri2en "y hatred#$irst all German signs had to "e taken
down# +hen we had to turn in all "icycles, motorcycles, radio sets,
ty!ewriters and tele!hones, and harsh !enalties were in store for
anyone who did not o"ey this order# +hen the 01echs !roceeded to
!lunder our houses# +hey went systematically from house to house,
from home to home and stole furniture and linen, clothing and
Fewelry, in a word, anything they liked# >ut the !lundering was
not the end of it# +here were alsomurders# %n one of these horri"le
days they arrested comrade (illi Seifert, from >andau# lume of
>erlin was in charge of ascertaining the death of these !eo!le#
$ingers with rings on them were torn off some !eo!le6s hands while
the !eo!le still li2ed# +he dead were "uried in a mass gra2e in
(olkowit1, "y the cemetery#"$rom the work unit in (olkowit1 / was
sent to the !enal cam! Iladno, where / saw inmates "eing scalded
with hot tea on their "are skin, on their "ack and "uttocks, and
"eing "eaten terri"ly afterwards# /n the two months / s!ent there,
/ myself was "eaten daily#"$ran1 Iau!il tells of the 01echreign of
terror in /glau4"%n May .9, .:?5 the 01ech reign of terror "egan in
/glau#A"out .,,-- Germans committed suicide the following night#
>y 0hristmas there were some ,,--- dead#%n May ,? and ,5
!artisans dro2e the German !o!ulation out of their homes within
twenty minutes and locked them into the cam!s rMnn on 0or!us
0hristi .:?5#Just as in those early days, the masses, inflamed "y
theirleadershi!, a"andoned themsel2es !u"licly and without shame or
conscience to a degree of "rutality and "estiality that few
outsiders could ha2e concei2ed of#+ens of thousands of >rMnn
citi1ens 3 mostly women and children, "ut also elderly !eo!le 3
were ruthlessly dri2en from their homes, ro""ed of all their
!ossessions, and hunted 2ia Aohrlit1 to the Austrian "order with
little more than the clothes on their "acks# (hoe2er colla!sed
remained where he fell, was "eaten, or shot without much ado# %ld
!eo!le and little children dro!!ed like flies from thirst, hunger
and e*haustion# +he catastro!hic sanitary conditions in the transit
cam!Aohrlit1 following a dysentery e!idemic meant a rich har2est
for death there as well#$rau +heresia >eichl, who was on this
death march withher little daughter, recounts the following4 "/ saw
a woman gi2ing "irth in a ditch#Afterwards the 01echs "eat her to
death and tram!led the new"orn until it was deadtoo#"+hat such
incredi"le "rutishness was not an isolated case is shown "y the
account of $rau M#H#(# (&e!ort V.:, )okumente 1ur Austrei"ung
der Sudetendeutschen, o!#cit#, !# DN, who recounts "eing ordered
(with reference to a dead mother and child to "throw the dirty !ig
and her "astard into the latrine@" (hen M#H#(#, a &ed 0ross
nurse, refused, two other women were forced to !erform the
a"omina"le deedand to throw the dead mother and "a"y into the o!en
latrine# (eeks later it was still !ossi"le to see the "a"y6s head
and one of the mother6s arms sticking out of the filth#+he murders
and "rutality that accom!anied this forced march to Austria are
uncounted#/n Aohrlit1, one of the largest of all mass gra2es
remains assilent witness to this death march, and there is hardly a
town or 2illage all the way to the "order where some dead were not
"uried, thrown like dogs into shallow gra2es#/t was a D-3km crusade
of Germans forci"ly e*!elled from >rMnn and tortured to the
!oint of death#+&GNN(+he ")eath March of>rMnn""y +heresia
>eichl, Meisenweg .-, IKnigs"runnE"orn in Arittlach, South
Mora2ia/t was early in the morning that someone knocked 3 no 3
!ounded on my door as hard as he could, !ro"a"ly with a rifle "utt,
and yelled4 "Get out, you German swine, right away, and don6t you
dare take anything with you or youwill "e shot#" /t was an
armed01ech that made his orders known in this way# And indeed / was
a"le to take hardly any of my !ossessions, "ecause / had a
three3year3old son whom / still had to !ush in his carriage# lack
$ields (su"ur" of >rMnn was Fam3!acked with !eo!le# >esides
the mothers with their children, old and sick !eo!le had also "een
roundedu!# (e stood there for a 2erylong time# +hen our tormentors
told us, with much roaring and yelling and many "lows, to line u!
in rows of two to march off# Anyone who did not understand the
01ech language and asked his neigh"or 7uestions in German was
!unished with "lows to the face# '2ery "low and e2ery !unch was a
shockfor me that / still ha2e not forgotten# (hy do !eo!le so
grossly maltreat others who ha2e done no wrong8 +he Germans who had
remained in >rMnn (many had already fled from the &ussians
and had weathered the war to its "itter end in their own four walls
had ne2er "een on "ad terms with the 01echs# %n the contrary, we
had always shared generously with them what little we had# / would
ne2er ha2e "elie2ed that a 01ech could "e so a"usi2e#Gnder roared
orders and "lows from whi!s we were herded from the >lack $ields
2ia the 0hildren6s rMnn" for no reason# / know 3 / was there#(e
were marched !ast the main cemeteryE my thoughts were with the dead
that rested there, and / en2ied them their eternal !eaceful slee!#
+hen, !ast &aigern andon to Aohrlit1# +he way was long and
horri"le# (e tra2eled all day# +he line of !eo!le grew e2er longer,
"ecause more and more wereadded from the 2arious su"ur"s we !assed#
someonewas always screaming and landing random "lows on the
suffering !eo!le# (hoe2er was not strong enough to continue stayed
were he fell# Gsually these wasted !eo!le were sho2ed into the
ditch, kicked a few times, and left lying there# ut in the middle
of the nightthere was a !ounding on my door, and in came four
stone3drunk, dirty &ussians, !ulled me out of "ed like a !iece
of meat and dragged me into another room, where all four of them
2ictimi1ed me# / should ha2e known that this area was occu!ied "y
&ussians, and that e2ery &ed soldier was under orders
fromStalin to ra!e the German women where2er and howe2er they
could# R/n his three 2olumes (ar, .:?,3.:?9, So2iet !ro!aganda
minister /lya 'hren"urg e*horted the &ed soldiers4S "+he
Germans are not human"eings# $or us there is nothing more amusing
than German cor!ses#" (+he original of this a!!eal for
e*termination is held at the Aolitical Archi2es of the $oreign
%ffice in >onn# (cf# 'rich Iern, Herheimlichte )okumente4 (as
den )eutschen 2erschwiegen wird, !# 95?#/ had "elie2ed myself safe
on Austrian soil too soon# Now / was totally at the end of my
tether, / was sicker than e2er and could hardly walk a ste!
anymore# >ut / wanted to getto Hienna, / wanted to take my child
to safety and Hiennawas still so far off#/ wandered from one
2illage to the ne*t, a2oiding the &ussian cam!s, to which the
Austrians alerted me, / knocked e2erywhere "ut hardly a door was
o!ened to me# "(e6re full u! with refugees from South Mora2ia," /
was always told# (&efugees is not the correct term, since we
were all e*!ellees# / "elie2ed it, "ecause all of South
Mora2ia,which was after all a German region, had "een going to
Austria# (e all had relati2es and ac7uaintances there# / constantly
ho!ed to meet u! with my !arents along my way, which they had
!ro"a"lyalso gone# ut there were also many curse words for us, from
trash to tram! toNa1i swine# And this was in Austria@$inally we
arri2ed in the townof (olkersdorf# +he "a"y carriage had also
"roken in the meantime and / !ushed iton three wheels for the last
few miles# %n the way there /already learned from nati2e 2illagers
that my !arents were in (olkersdorf, working for a farmer and
terri"ly worried a"out me# +hey had also "een e*!elled from their
house and home in Arittlach, South Mora2ia# /, on the other hand,
had studied in >rMnn, married in >rMnn, li2ed in >rMnn,
and thus my odyssey of suffering had also "egun in >rMnn#/ found
my !arents, "ut they "arely recogni1ed me, as emaciated, sick and
tired as /was# +he same went for my child# (e fell into each
other6s arms, all of us we!t "itterly, "ut there was no realFoy#
+he farmer took me in with great dis!leasure, "ut / had to !romise
to "e on my way again in a week# / was Fust grateful to "e a"le to
s!end a few days in safety and security#My greatest wish is that
the future will ne2er !ermit such disgraceful ha!!enings again@
A0+S %$ H/%L'N0')G&/NG +, )%N6+ >' SG&A&/S') (ut the
!riest said cynically, 6that6s for"idden for Germans###6, turned
away and left#"/n re!orts of the 0hurch Au*iliary in
$rankfurt3am3Main we read4 "Gnfortunatelye2en 0hurch organs, e2en
clergymen, make no e*ce!tion to their chau2inisticattitude towards
the Germans#"At a !u"lic assem"ly on June ,?, .:?5 in Li"enec,
Msgr# Stasek, who had already "een an acti2e mem"er in the$irst
&e!u"lic6s "Lido2a Strana", the 01ech Aeo!le6s Aarty,
!roclaimed4 "+he !rece!t of "rotherly lo2e is 2oid where Germans
are concerned@" And %li2a 3 a clergyman and )irector of 0harita"le
(orks 3 was a mem"er of the Aeo!le6s 0ourtand fre7uently
contri"uted to unFust 2erdicts@Ariest isho!6s Aalace in IKniggrLt1
has arri2ed together with a !astoral of the 01ech diocesan "isho!
Mauritius Aicha# %ne day this !u"lication may stand as official
document of the failure of 01ech 0atholicism inthe time of greatest
need# Ane*tra2agant nationalism has gri!!ed the 01ech !eo!le, right
u! to the highest ecclesiastical circles# R###S"/t is de!ressing
that !articularly 0atholic !riests and 0atholic laity !artici!ate
in and a!!ro2e of the acti2ities of the 01ech >olshe2ists# +he
01ech catechist Janecek in 'i!el, fore*am!le, is on the city6s
e*!ulsion committee# News!a!ers (Lido2a demokratie and !eriodicals
(No2y narod that claim to "e0hristian in nature are !roud to stand
at the 2anguard of the incitement against all things German# /t is
a disgrace that cries to hea2en,that two 0atholic !riests are
Ministers in the >olshe2ist 01ech go2ernment and take their full
share of res!onsi"ility for the go2ernment6s measures against the
Germans# Msgr# Sramek is de!uty !rime minister, Msrg# ut the
Americans in their utter "lindness let the So2iets!ersuade them to
halt at the Iarls"ad3Ailsen3>udweis line and to lea2e the
"li"eration" of 01echoslo2akia to the >olshe2iks#>ut e2en if
the Americans had marched on, they would ha2e afforded the Sudeten
Germans no !rotection# /n those areas where the Americans did later
occu!y the land, they did not so much as lift a finger to !re2ent
the torrent of "estiality 2ented on the Sudeten Germans# +he
maFority of the G/s watched the mass murder with e7uanimity# +hese
soldiers, !ro!agandi1ed into a gross hatred of all things German,
regarded the !hysical e*termination of the Sudeten Germans as an
act of Fust !unishment4 let6s get rid of these damned Germans once
and for all#%n May 5, while the units of $ield Marshal $erdinand
SchKrner still stemmed the tide of the So2iet ad2ance in eastern
01echoslo2akia, the 0ommunists in Arague !roceeded to get the
masses mo2ing# /n the morning hoursthey started the rumor that
American tanks were already standing at the western outskirts of
Arague# /t was a "luff, of courseE after all, the du!ed Americans
had halted a hundred kilometers farther east# >ut the rumor was
all it took to unleash !andemonium# /mmediately, 01ech and &ed
flags a!!eared in the windows, andthe citi1ens of Arague rushed
into the streets to greet the Americans# Songs of nationalism "urst
forth#At first the German soldiers and the !olice watched
hel!lessly# >ut then something !ossessed $rank to order the
streets cleared and noncom!liant !ersons shot# A mad order, it may
seem today# >ut one must consider that SchKrner6s unitsyet
fought in the east of Arague and that their rear field was to "e
ke!t clear#%nly some of the German troo!s o"eyed $rank6s
orders#>ut it sufficed to clear the streets in some !arts of the
city, and to ready artillery and machine gunsE the 01echmasses,
"elie2ing the American tanks to "e at the ready "ehind them,
suddenly went on the offensi2e after 0ommunist com"at grou!s sei1ed
!ower# '2ery German soldier found in the streets was lynched#
Smaller Germanoffices were stormed and their staff "utchered#
Germanhomes were !lundered, their owners a"used, "eaten to death or
thrown out the windows# Ailes of "odies linedthe streets# Armed
0ommunists had killed the small guard !osted at the radio station,
and now "egan to "roadcast an orgy of hatred into the ether#
Accounts of murders allegedlycommitted "y German soldiers were
"roadcast incessantly, !e!!ered with calls for re2enge and
!ay3"ack# +he danse maca"re of Arague "egan# /n (en1el S7uare,
wounded German soldiers were hung from lam!!osts, and fires were
lit "eneath these unfortunates so that they died a gruesome death
as li2ing torches#+&'>'GAN /N A&AGG'>y the afternoon
of May 5, most of the minimally staffed German offices in Arague
had"een stormed# Larger (ehrmacht offices and the "arracks were the
only ones that could still hold their own#A grou! of German
soldiers, gathered together "y a resolute 0a!tain, defended Masaryk
+rain Station where thousands of German refugees and wounded had
taken co2er#Aankra1 !rison near Araguewas to "ecome the torture
hell of death forcountless Germans#A gruesome fate caught u! with
thousands of wounded inse2eral hos!itals# After these hos!itals
were stormed "y the mo", the "ed3ridden wounded were shot in their
"eds# >ut e2en those who were a"le to walk, and who had gone out
that day, were lost# Any soldier found "y himself was "eaten to
death or hung# +housands of wounded who had "een rounded u! from
2arious hos!itals were gathered together at the Scharnhorst
"arracks, and mowed down "y su"machine gun fire#/n the night of May
53D !osters were hung on "uildings and ad2ertising columns4 "Nemcum
smrt@" )eath to the Germans@ At thesame time the radio station
ceaselessly e*horted the 01echs to wi!e out the Germans# +heir
homes were systematically !lundered# Many inha"itants were thrown
out the windows or "eaten to death, "ut thousands more were crowded
into "asements and im!ro2ised !risons and a"used horri"ly#(ith
tanks and raiding !arties, the centers of German resistance
attem!tedto !re2ent the massacres of the German ci2ilians, at least
in their immediate 2icinity# olshe2ists#And thus, on May D, .:?5,
hemarched his $irst )i2ision into Arague, where they wereto Foin
the fighting on the 01ech side and to reesta"lish order in
Arague#+he di2ision marched into Arague in German uniforms, in
German steel helmets, andwearing St# Andrew6s cross on their
slee2es# And the 01echs, !ausing for a moment in their "lood
fren1y,2irtually swam!ed them with flowers, while the streets
e2erywhere were yet littered with the "odies of the Germans they
had murdered#And in !art Hlaso26s men did not disa!!oint the
01echs# +he &ussians fought, grimly and cruelly at times,
against the SS, who in turn were fighting for their li2es# >ut
in !art they also hel!ed where2er they could# +hey hel!ed many of
their German !risoners to esca!e#%ne tragedy was the fate of the
young SS mem"ers who fell to the last man in Arague 3 "utchered or
hanged from lam! !osts# Most of them were young ethnic Germans from
the south3east who had "een conscri!ted into the units of the
(affen3SS# Now they reluctantly wore, and died in, the uniform in
which they could e*!ect no mercy, howe2er "lameless they were# +he
inter2ention of Hlaso26s troo!s no dou"t hastened the smothering of
German resistance in Arague#Hlaso2 had ho!ed that his inter2ention
would !reser2e Arague from !rotracted "attles and great
destruction#(ith his show of good will he wanted to esta"lish a
liaison with the (estern Allies, whom he "elie2ed to "e e2en then
marching on Arague#A tragic mistake# Americans did come, "ut it was
only a reconnaissance unit that immediately withdrew again to
Ailsen when it saw that thesituation of the Germans in Arague was
already ho!eless#>efore his de!arture the American commanding
officertold the commander of Hlaso26s di2ision that he should Fust
await the arri2al of the So2iet army, and kee! the !eace in Arague
until then#+his "recommendation of suicide" e*em!lifies the
shocking !olitical nai2etJ thatdetermined the Americans6 course of
action with regard to the So2iets in those days#A cheering crowd
greets theAmericans in Ailsen#At their feet in the gutter 3
amurdered German# +eraun# +he di2ision had sustained many losses
and many wounded, and was nowcaught in the maelstrom of the retreat
of Hlaso26s army# %n learning that So2iet tank units had "roken
through SchKrner6s front and were ad2ancing on Arague from
thenorth3east, Hlaso2 immediately de!arted westward#%n their way,
three Generals tra2eling alone had "een sto!!ed and arrested "y the
01echs# +hey were handed o2er to the So2iets some few days later#
+he "ulk of the troo!s, howe2er, reached the American lines 3 and
now there "egan an infernal gameof treacherousness and American
inhumanity# +he anti30ommunist troo!s were disarmed, and left in
the "elief that they were now in safety with these "crusaders for
democracy"# >ut then they were encircled "y American tanks, and
at ..4--a#m# on May .9th American officers informed General
>unichenko that he and his regiments had until 94-- !#m# to
march off to the 'ast#+he &ussians knew what that meant# +hey
tried to "reak out on all sides, "ut the Americans had formed an
iron ring of tanks around the &ussian freedom fighters and
ensured, "y means of a terri"le manhunt, that the "ulk of these
unfortunates were herded towards the So2iets, who were already
waiting for their !rey#+he Americans rounded u! the mem"ers of the
&ussian officers6 school and the reser2es in Southern Germany
and Austria and dro2e them together in the cam!s Alattling, $Mssen,
Iem!ten and Lin1# +here were mass suicides and indescri"a"le scenes
of des!air, "ut the "crusaders" handed all of them, to the last
man, o2er to the So2iets#+reachery was also used to !ut General
Hlaso26s head on the "lock# ut the &ussians were not theonly
ones to "e deli2ered to the knife# (hile Arague was already the
site of shootings, lynchings and torture, the three armies of
SchKrner6s unit still fought in the east of 01echoslo2akia# /n the
e2ening of May ;, .:?5, the $irst Armored Gnit 3 "led white, "ut
still fighting 2aliantly on 3 halted along
the>rMnn3%lmMt13MLhrisch SchKn"erg line#(hen the di2isions
learned that an armistice had "een ordered, they turned west to try
to !ut distance "etween themsel2es and the So2iets#,-- kilometers
lay "etween the German rearguard on theMarch &i2er and the
>ohemian $orest, where the Americans stoodE ,-- kilometers
se!arated them from the troo!s which, in their 2iew, were not the
enemy# +he German soldiers coming from the 'ast ho!ed that a
certain common ground among western ci2ili1ed !eo!les would unite
them against >olshe2ik "ar"arism, whose horrors they had come to
know u! close# At the 2ery least, the armies that had thrown
themsel2es as "ulwark against the deadly a2alanche from the 'ast
right to the final hour ho!ed that the Americans would take them
!risoner, which was still to "e!referred to So2iet ca!ti2ity#$ully
a million soldiers clung to this last ho!e while !ouring westward
through the chaotic land, !ursued "y the So2iets and am"ushed
"y01ech sni!ers# +ime and again the rearguard columns were o2errun
"y So2iet tanksad2ancing from "ehind# >ut the others who esca!ed
the tanks of the &ed Army ultimately also marched into
disaster# Ahead of them in the(est, the American lines were closed
to them in a hostile wall# (here2er the !ri2ates encountered the
Americans they were generally gi2en a hostile rece!tion# /n fact
they were fre7uently recei2ed with o!enhatred, and with scornful
Feering that the Na1is would not manage to esca!e from the scene of
their "crimes"# %nce again America !ro!aganda had made the Germans
seem to "e monsters without e*ce!tion# Generals who tried to make
contact with American staffs met with a cold lack of understanding#
+he commanding officers were under orders to use whate2ermeans it
took, e2en armed force, to !re2ent any westward march of the German
army# And they did so with terri"le !recision#/n this way the
Americans sent almost one million into the hell of So2iet
ca!ti2ity# /t is im!ossi"le to descri"e the fate of the young women
assistants to the armed forces, the &ed 0ross nurses, and the
Luftwaffe assistants# Many of them were ra!ed to death#+he only
!ri2ates to esca!e were those who managed to sli! through loo!holes
alone or in small grou!s, and fled through the woods into the (est#
>ut only a few thousand really got away# Most of them fell into
the hands of dehumani1ed 01echs and were tortured to death# +hose
who were "eaten to death 7uickly, or e2en handed o2er to the
So2iets, were the lucky ones# +housands u!on thousands 2anished
without a trace in those days and weeks# +heir murderers still li2e
3 they were all young !eo!le in those days 3 "ut their conscience
is dead#'ntire di2isions were massacred, and no one knows of their
fate# +he end of the hea2y mortar di2ision 59? is known only
"ecause one single man esca!ed# Ludwig >reyer4 "(e were on our
way to the Americans# At Melnik >ridge a 6friendly6 01ech maFor
!romised us safe3conduct if we would lay down our arms# (e trusted
him, and did so# +here were 9.; of us, and now we also had to hand
o2er all our 2alua"les and march to the town Lie"e1nice in rows of
fi2e# %nce the entire column was on the main street, gunfire "urst
from all the houses# / got away "ecause / was at the end of the
column#+he dead had fallen in hea!s in the street# / ha2e heard
that all the wounded were later murdered, with "ullets into the
"ack of the neck#"+his mass murder must ha2e"een carefully !lanned#
%ur marching column had o"2iously "een announced "efore we arri2ed#
+he maFor had only had the task of decei2ing us and !ersuading us
to gi2e u! our wea!ons#"Germans are e*!elled on footafter the end
of the war# A&AGG'4 S'A %$/Nut e2en "efore they were lined u!
to "e marched off, some of those who ha!!ened to stand near the
gates got a taste of what lay in store for them# +rucks loaded with
wounded German soldiers suddenly dro2e into the yard#(retched
figures were amongthe human cargo, !ictures of human suffering and
forlornness# +hey still wore "lood3soaked "andages# And the faces
of the doctors and nurses accom!anying them showed such a degree of
horror that the Germans in the yard shuddered# +hey didnot know
what was ha!!ening e2en then in manyhos!itals# +hey did not know
that 01ech men and women were throwing wounded out of their "eds,
"eating to death and throttling hel!less 2ictims, castrating them
or drowning them in their wash "owls# %r that they were throwing
them into sheds or garages or loading them ontotrucks, and in some
!laces were e2en laying them on thestreet so that mounted soldiers
could ride o2er them#"(hile the wounded were stillstanding !ale and
frightened "eside the truck they had come in, a grou! of rioters
that had "een lurking in the yard !ounced on them, snatched away
their crutches,canes and "andages, "eat them to the ground and
!roceeded to !ound away at them with clu"s, rails and hammers until
they lay unmo2ing in their "lood#Germans are led to run
thegauntlet# Note that the 01ech"&G" (&e2olutionary
Guardare wearing German helmets#"(ere they still human, those"eings
on (en1el and Iarls S7uare and in the &ittergassewho on May :
doused Germans with gasoline, hung them "y their feet from !oles
and lam! !osts and set them on fire, and then laughed andhowled and
cheered to their agony, which lasted all the longer "ecause the
2ictims had "een deli"erately hung head3down so the rising smoke
could not suffocate them8 (ere they still human,those "eings who
took German soldiers, "ut also ci2ilians and women, tied them
together with "ar"ed wire, shot them and then threw the "undles of
!eo!le into the Moldau &i2er8 (ere they still human, those
"eings who drowned German children in the tu"s of water intended
for !utting out fires,and who !itched women and children out the
windows intothe streets8 +hey had human faces# >ut they were no
longer human#"+hey were not human, those"eings who indiscriminately
"ludgeoned any and e2ery German they got hold of untilhe or she
colla!sed# +hey were not human, those "eings who forced naked
German women to clear out rocks, who cut their Achilles tendons and
re2eled in their hel!lessness# No, they were no longer human, those
"eings who dragged the Germans out of the underground sewers of
(en1el S7uare, clu""ed themto the ground and literally tram!led
them to death, and they were not humans who took the German girls,
the (ehrmacht assistants who had fallen into their hands, stri!!ed
them of their clothes, and herded them through $acho"a Street
towards the (olschaner cemetery, where they machine3gunned them, or
clu""ed and sta""ed others so that they sought refuge in !iles of
hay, which the howling torturers !rom!tly set on fire#"And these
were only a few high !oints in the sea of inhumanity in which a
sim!le shooting 3 e2en if it was the shooting of hundreds of
students in Arague6s Adolf MA0rM* consisted of ha2ing to "end o2er
a trestle and "einghorri"ly "eaten "y se2eral torturers# /f someone
lost control o2er his "owels duringthe "eating, the rest of us had
to eat his feces if we did not wish to "e gunned down# A"use was
the order of the day later on as well# %ne night the commanding
officer arri2ed, together with a dog# A !riest and / had to crawl
in a circle while the dog literally tore our "uttocks to !ieces#"/
went through horri"le things# >ut to this day it still tears at
my heartstrings to recall the .93 or .?3year3old "oy who was
murdered "efore our eyes with a "ullet into the "ack of his neck
"ecause, weakened as he was "y hunger and e*haustion, he had "een a
tiny "it late at roll call#"(alter $illafer of Ilagenfurt recalls a
scene from a 01ech concentration cam!4"A tall "lond 01ech girl
a"out .N years of age was !layfully swinging a su"machine gun
hanging o2er her shoulder# Suddenly she sna!!ed the gun down,
!ulled the trigger and em!tied her entire maga1ine into the crowd
of soldiers waiting to march3off# / was unharmed and heard the
order4 whoe2er can mo2e, gather at the edge of the woods# Anyone
who tries to tend the wounded will "e shot#"Germans who were caught
alone or in small grou!s had no chance of sur2i2ing# +hey were shot
or "eaten to death on the s!ot# $usilier commandos o2er!owered
thestar2ed and defenseless !ri2ates and strung them from the
trees#"5-,--- (A+0A>=6S ut the Americans handed us o2er to the
&ussians "y the thousands, and the &ussians then directed
our refugee columns towards Arague#">ut the So2iets did !rotect
us from the attacks of the 01echs# (ithout their escort we would
ha2e "een "eaten to death on the way, "efore we e2en reached
Arague# /n this res!ect the &ussians made short work of the
01echs# /n IKnigswiese near Arague / saw a 01ech "eatinga German
lieutenant# (hen the latter tried to defend himself, the 01ech shot
him# A &ussian saw that, !ulled out his !istol and gunned the
01ech down without a word#"Still under &ussian guard, we were
herded through the raging !andemonium of Arague, in whose streets
horri"ly mutilated "odies of German !ri2ates hung from the street
lam! !osts e2erywhere, and on into Masaryk Stadium# +here, we were
caught u! "y the 01ech murder machine#"(ords fail me to descri"e
what took !lace in the first few days in that stadium, where "y and
"y ?-,--- Germans were crammed together, without water, almost
entirely without food# Men, women, children and soldiers# My little
children cried for hunger#">efore our eyes there "egan a
sadistic re2enge against SS3men and 6incriminated6 !ersons, who
were tortured to death in e2ery way imagina"le# / most 2i2idly
remem"er a young !regnant womanE young 01echs in uniform slit her
"elly o!en, tore out the em"ryo and, howling with glee, stuffed a
dachshund into the torn "odyof the woman, who was screaming
horri"ly# (e huddled in the grandstands# +he "utchering in the
arena "efore our eyes was like that in ancient
&ome#"0onstantly, grou!s of !ri2ates who had "een disco2ered to
"e marked withthe SS3rune were li7uidated in the most horri"le
fashion, first they were flogged, then "eaten with clu"s, and
finally shot# +hey were only e2er shot after !rotracted torture#
+he screams of the agoni1ed 2ictims who were "eing skinned ali2e
went right through us# And thousands ofchildren had to watch all
this#ut the 01echs felt no stirrings of humanity at that sight
either# loody Arague that in the first days of May .:?5 se2eral
hundred German children and toddlerswere locked into an underground
room# +he only e*it was "ricked u!#"Ne2er in my life will / forget
the sight of one dead child in the concentration cam! in Mora2ian
(eiZkirchen (today called 0hranice# (e were locked u! there with
our mother "efore "eing trans!orted off to Germany incattle cars
filled with 5- !ersons each#"A young guard soldier had shot a
toddler who had wandered near the "ar"ed3wire fence# / will e2er
remem"er the sight of his grinning face as he continuedto send
"urst after "urst of su"machine gun fire into the dead lum! of
flesh# +he !athetic remains of what had "een a child continued to
Ferkunder the im!act of the "ullets that dro2e into the shredded
"ody#"/n >rMnn a district farmer was stri!!ed naked, tied u!
with wire and locked into a cell together with some rats# ook"
com!iled under the AdenauerAdministration and documenting the
crimes in Aoland, =ugosla2ia and 01echoslo2akia has "een !laced
under lock and key "y our current Socialist go2ernment at >onn#
/ts !u"lication is !rohi"ited@+he Austrian $ederal Aresident
tra2eled to Arague, and one Austrian news!a!er lauded him as
"courageous Aresident"# (hat for8 >ecause he had 2isited the
Arch"isho!8 )oes that take courage8 +he e*!ellees mightFustly ha2e
e*!ected some other sign of courage from him# >ut such a sign
has not yet come 3 neither from Hienna nor from >onn#+rehm
wrote4 &eichen"erger soon saw that in America 2ery little if
any distinction was made "etween Germans and National Socialists,
and that itwas the Germans as a whole whom one hated, the Germans
as a whole whom one wanted to destroy, and the Germans as a whole
whom one "elie2ed ca!a"le of all e2il and on whom one wished all
e2il# +his was the attitude that led to the fact that after .:?5
01echs who had !artici!ated in massacresof Germans could li2e with
im!unity in the American3occu!ied 1one of Germany#%ne infamous
e*am!le is the case of the 01ech Antonin onn and Hienna8 elsen and
Auschwit1 "y telling the truth a"out Allied crimes8 After all, it
is the s!irit of re3education that only Germans are e2er to sit in
the !risoner6s dock ofhistory# +hat is why schoolchildren are only
e2er taught a"out the randen"urg, . million Aomeranians, -#9
million (est Arussians, . million from Aosen and . million from the
(arthegau 3 a total of .9#D million German !eo!le# Added to this
were 9 million Sudeten Germans, and .#5 million from ut at the core
of the Sudeten German !eo!le the will to !reser2e their ethnic
su"stance "eats strongly#So does the demand for com!ensation#+his
demand and the insistence on the right to one6s homeland will no
dou"t !ass on to the ne*t generation# "+he homecomingof the
e*!elled," said %tto onn,.:D.'*cer!ts from ")as &echt auf die
onn, the Furists de"ated further issues regarding the right to
one6s homeland# As usual, the con2ention was closed "y recording
the conclusions reached in these de"ates# +he 2oluminous and 2ery
carefully worded conclusions re!resent another decisi2e stage in
the academic resolution of the !ro"lems associated with the right
to one6s homeland# )ue to their great significance, these
conclusions are re!roduced here in e*tenso4/# .#+he condition
constitutingthe foundation of the conce!t"right to one6s homeland",
a condition !ercei2ed "y man6s sense of Fustice to "e 2alua"le and
worth !reser2ing, consists of e2eryone "eing a"le to
resideunmolested at his domicile and within his social unit, with
the certainty of "eing a"le to remain in such condition for as long
as his will is freely directed thus#/n this conte*t, terminology
isdefined as follows4a "domicile"4 the !lace where a !erson
regularly resides "ecause the focus of his life and social
structure is itself located thereE" "social unit"4 the !eo!le whose
domicile is located within a s!ecific s!atial area ("homeland" and
who are linked to each other there through tradition and a
multitude of social relationsE R###S Monsignore )r# '#
J#&eichen"erger,$ather of the '*!elled# AAA'N)/U4God Li2es4
ohemia and Mora2ia an economic and cultural Fewel# enes )ecrees
which are still gos!elto them, and 0entral 'uro!e is to "e
ethnically cleansed ofthe Germans 3 in accordance with their
re2ered former Aresident >enes6s a!!eal4 ")ri2e the Germans from
their houses, factories and farms, and lea2e them nothing "ut one
handkerchief to wee! into@" %riginal edition4Schreie aus der
