Cleansing Czechland : the Prague Uprising and the end of a multiethnic Bohemia
This thesis seeks to illuminate the events of May 5-9, 1945, in the city of Prague and its environs. These were the last days of the Nazi regime, days of confusion and retaliation, of previously quiet resistance groups springing into bloody action, of unlikely heroes and unspeakable acts of brutality. No significant English language history has yet to be written on the subject, and as a result, one of the primary objectives of the thesis will be to provide the English reader with a comprehensive overview of the Prague Uprising. Who were the main characters of the drama in Prague? What level of control did the various political and social organizations have on the rebellion? Where was the heaviest fighting and what was the damage? Underlying all of my work will be the pressing question, what motivates a people to take to the streets and kill their neighbors? At the center of this question is the story of Czech-German relations before and during the war. It is my belief that a deep-seated prejudice existed before the Nazis invaded, yet it was the Nazi behavior, their fanatical condescension, that changed disgruntlement into revenge
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