From the actions of heroes to the punishment of traitors

The exhibition, prepared by the National Museum together with the Military Historical Institute in Prague (and provided by the National Technical Museum), recalls the protectorate’s reality in a broader context (including previous events surrounding the break-up of Czechoslovakia), but focuses on the time since Heydrich’s arrival. to Prague in 1941 after a period of second martial law between May 27 and July 3 of the following year. That is, the events following the action of paratroopers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, for which we took the term assassination from the Nazi dictionary, when a state of emergency was declared for 38 days. The occupiers then unleashed reprisals shocking the whole world – including the extermination of Lidice.

VIDEO: Eighty years since the Heydrichiad. Zuzana Čaputová also came to Prague

The exhibition presents events, people and contexts that we must never forget, the General Director of the National Museum Michal Lukeš. “He acquaints visitors with the key events of 1942, the realities of that time, and especially with the fates and heroism of state people who did not hesitate to lay down their lives for the freedom of their homeland,” he stated.

The visitor of the exhibition literally goes through history: symbolic week after week, the authors present him with everyday worries, then current events, period propaganda – and against their background, they present the preparations for the assassination and its execution. The following events: the death of Heydrich, the extermination of Lidice, the fight of paratroopers in the church of St. Cyril and Methodius, the burning of the settlement of Ležáky The fates of Lidice men, women and children are presented. However, there are also views of members of the elite: for example, the Prime Minister General Alois Eliáš, who was arrested after Heydrich’s arrival, sentenced to death and rectified under a second martial law. Or the writer Vladislav Vančura; he was also executed in June 1942 for participating in the resistance. And the exhibition also pays attention to the reflection of this period at the end of the war: with punishments for traitors and collaborators.

A view of the attack through the eyes of the actors

The Memorial of National Oppression and Resistance in Panenské Břežany in Prague-East has also been offering very unique views of the attack on Heydrich’s car since Saturday. His exhibitions are newly complemented by special ten, coming through the visitors of the so-called assassination and to see its context in virtual reality. Including looking at the armed action itself through the eyes of individual actors.

What can be seen in the National Museum:
– Parts of parachutists’ equipment from the Anthropoid airdrop of Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, including items confiscated by the Nazis after the fight in the crypt of the Church of St. Cyril and Methodius: for example, a briefcase, tie, jacket or pistol holster.
– The original radio of the Silver A Libuše airdrop, mentioning the fate of radio operator Jiří Potůček and Pardubice supporters of the Silver A landing.
– The tragedy of Lidice is reminded by the descriptive number 10 from the Lidice school – and for example there are also postcards addressed to prisoners to Buchenwald from June 1942 or a rosary made by Božena Dvorská from bread in the Pankrác prison before repairs were made.
– “Protectorate Cinema”, where you can watch the period of the second martial law period; there is also an audio program of the then radio.
– Exhibition We will never give up! It is complemented by a smaller exhibition entitled Heroes of the Resistance prepared by the Slovak National Museum and the Military Historical Institute in Bratislava: it illustrates the reality of the Slovak state and the resistance and resistance of part of Slovak society against fascism.

Source: Šárka Bukvajová, National Museum