Whilst the uprising successfully captured many strategic locations in the city, the Resistance groups failed to occupy the German military headquarters at Klatovská Street 19, as General Georg von Majewski, commander of the German garrison in Pilsen, refused to surrender to them. The uprising ended with the arrival of American soldiers of General Patton's Third Army in the morning hours of 6 May 1945, who eliminated the final pockets of German resistance.On this trail visitors can discover the key sites, stories and people involved in the uprising. From the Peace Square Monuments dedicated to remembering this history, to the house at Klatovská Street 19, the location of dramatic negotiations for the German surrender of Pilsen. Reminders of some of the key individuals involved in this history include memorials such as the Jindřich Křečan commemorative plaque and Roosevelt Bridge, which honour local Resistance member Jindřich Křečan and American wartime President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Finally, the end of the war is remembered in the memorial plaque at the confluence of the Mže and Radbůza rivers, which commemorates the day of the first free radio broadcast in the Czech language in Pilsen in 1945.

Czech Republic

City of Pilsen

Monument to the first free radio station in the Czech language in Pilsen at the end of the war, 1945.

Na Obcizně Radio Broadcasting Station

Memorial plaque in honour of the Pilsen Resistance fighters

Memorial plaque at 14 Čechova Street

One of the earliest places of remembrance in Pilsen, this is the location of several World War II monuments.

Monument on Peace Square

Monument dedicated to the Pilsen Uprising 5 May 1945.

Pilsen Uprising 1945 Monument

Jindřich Křečan commemorative plaque and Roosevelt Bridge honour two individuals of World War II: Jindřich Křečan, a local Resistance member , and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the American wartime President.

Jindřich Křečan Commemorative Plaque at the Roosevelt bridge

Pilsen Uprising

The Pilsen Uprising was part of a larger demonstration known as the Czech May Uprising that effected the entire region. In Pilsen, the Pilsen Revolutionary National Committee, led by Colonel Jindřich Krejčík as commander of the&nbsp;resistance organization the Second Light Secret Division, took the lead in cooperation with other resistance organisations from the surrounding region. Despite the lack of equipment and the number of Wehrmacht forces (7.500 in the city), the Revolutionary National Committee seized city hall while resistance fighters took over the main post office and the railway station. At the same time, factory workers took control of the Škoda factories, and local police secured their stations. A resistance group led by Karel Šindler captured the German military broadcasting station "Na Obcizně", broadcasting the famous words at 0:05 pm on May 5, 1945: “Pilsen speaks, free Pilsen speaks.”Though capturing many strategic locations in the city, the resistance groups failed to occupy the German military headquarters at Klatovská Street 19 as General Georg von Majewski, commander of the German garrison in Pilsen, refused to surrender to the Czechs. The Pilsen Uprising ended with the arrival of American soldiers of General Patton's Third Army in the morning hours of May 6, 1945, who eliminated the final pockets of German resistance. Thanks to the Pilsen insurgents and the German soldiers' interest in getting captured by the Americans, there was no major bloodshed in Pilsen and a large number of German soldiers waited for the arrival of the American army in their barracks.A monument dedicated to the fighters of the Czech Popular uprising is located on Peace Square.

Pilsen Uprising - 5 May 1945

Klatovská Street 19 was built for Hugo and Helena Semler in the early 20th century by the architect Adolf Loos. Other of his works in Pilsen included the Bummel House and 13 apartment interiors, including Klatovská Street 12, directly opposite the "Thank You, America!” Plaza. In 1939, the Semler family was forced to emigrate to Canada. In 1941, the German military headquarters was established in the house. On 5 May 1945 with the appending approach of American and Belgian forces, resistance fighters and Czech police rebelled against the German occupiers. They occupied all important buildings in the city except the German military headquarters at Klatovská Street 19. General Georg von Majewski, commander of the German garrison in Pilsen, refused to surrender to the Czechs and ordered his troops to resist until the arrival of American forces. Today the house remains an important monument of European architecture of the 20th century and the location of dramatic negotiations in the final days of World War II in Pilsen.

Klatovska Street 19

As early as 1946, Peace Square (náměstí Míru) was chosen as the location of a memorial to the Victims of Fascism and War in Pilsen. The memorial was erected in the central part of the square only in 1967 on the basis of a&nbsp;competition. The winning design featured a travertine sculpture titled "People" created by the sculptor Slavoj Nejdel, which represents the clenched formation of figures facing violence. The sculpture rests on horizontal granite pedestal with the motto "Honor to the one who defends himself, he can give his life for liberty" and was designed by architect Hynek Gloser Sr. The memorial was reconstructed in 2010.After the closure of the Bory military airfield in 1966, a second monument was moved here dedicated to the Czechoslovak Military Pilots of the Second World War. A third monument located on the square is dedicated to the Czech Popular uprising that broke out in the early morning of 5 May 1945.

Peace Square Monuments

It was here, at a place called “Na Obcizně”, that the citizens of Pilsen (led by Karel Šindler, later the first director of the Pilsen radio studio) captured, after a dramatic battle, a German transmitter whose task was to jam the London broadcast. After the capture of this transmitter, famous words came from the air at 0:05&nbsp;pm on May 5, 1945: “Pilsen speaks, free Pilsen speaks.” A replica of the German Luftwaffe's medium-wave transmitter, which was placed here in 1945, is now located in front of the building of Czech Radio Pilsen on náměstí Míru.&nbsp;

Three memorial plaques were unveiled in honour of the Pilsen resistance fighters in Čechova Street, Resslova Street and Klatovská Avenue in 2017. The families who lived at these addresses helped the Allied paratroopers in Operation Anthropoid who were sent to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, giving them safe refuge in their homes. Their second strategic objective was to disable the Škoda factory in Plzeň (Operation Canonbury). The first to arrive on 17 April 1942 was Jozef Gabčík, Jan Kubiš, Adolf Opálka and Josef Valčík while Karel Čurda on 23 April. Ultimately, the operation ended in failure after Karel Čurda reported to the Gestapo headquarters in Prague, revealing all those who had helped during the operation. Subsequently, they were arrested, sentenced to death, and executed at Mauthausen Concentration Camp on 24 October 1942.

Memorial Plaque at 34 Cechova Street

The bridge, known as Saský most (Saxon Bridge), was built in 1848-1852 based plans of Lexa Stelzer and replaced an earlier Saxon Bridge built in the 16th century. In 1860, sculptures from different parts of the city were placed on the bridge. After the war in 1945, the bridge and the neigbouring street were renamed in honour of American wartime President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Surprisingly during the communist period, the street nor the bridge were not renamed despite tensions with the United States during the Cold War.It was on this bridge, that local Pilsen resistance fighter, Jindřich Křečan, lost his life in the final days of the war. Born on 20 June 1916, Pacov (Pelhrimov), Jindřich was part of the Kolo na Strěle resistance group. At the end of the war, he joined the anti-fascist uprising. On May 5, 1945, he tried to stop a car full of German soldiers on the bridge but was shot in the neck and succumbed to his injuries on the bridge. A commemorative plaque was placed here marking Jindřich Křečan final act of resistance in the war.