The American army’s goodbye

Available in: English | Česky

After the liberation, the American army stayed in Western Bohemia until November 1945, when the soldiers left Czechoslovakia. As a goodbye, on 20 November 1945, a grand military parade was organised in Pilsen, which was attended, among others, by US ambassador Lawrence Steinhardt and the Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Masaryk. The young Mojmír Fencl was especially fascinated by the American military vehicles, which had been thoroughly cleaned and repainted by the soldiers so that they shone. “You’d stand by the pavement and the tanks would go by, the street would always sway under their weight. It was joyous, it was the end of the war. Everyone respected the Americans,” Mojmír Fencl recalled.

Gallery (3)

Hodnocení

Hodnotilo 0 lidí

Abyste mohli hodnotit musíte se přihlásit!

Routes

Add to user route

Comments

No comments yet.

Insert comment

Mojmír Fencl

He was born in Jarov near Kaznějov in 1930, where his parents ran a small farm in the village. The local farmers refused to create a united agricultural co-op in the early 1950s, and so the village became the target of State Security provocation. This resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of a number of local inhabitants, including Mojmír Fencl. He and his friends tried to escape to West Germany, but their guide led them straight into the arms of State Security. In March 1952, after being secretly held in custody for four months, he was sentenced to two years of prison for the crime of attempting to leave the republic, avoiding military service, and misprision of felony. He served his sentence in prison camps around Horní Slavkov - Camp 12 and Ležnice. He returned from prison in May 1953, following a presidential amnesty. After completing military service at the Auxiliary Engineering Corps, (punishment unit), he worked in the agricultural co-op in Jarov.

More info

Pilsen, Republic Square

Available in: English | Česky

Republic Square is the main square in Pilsen and the metaphorical heart of the city. It dates back to the founding of Pilsen itself in 1295. The square is dominated by the Gothic Cathedral of St Bartholomew. Other significant monuments include: the Renaissance town hall, a Marian column, historical houses, and since 2010 a modern fountain inspired by Pilsen’s coat of arms. The square has always fulfilled an important symbolic role in the city’s life. Pilseners gathered here during key moments of the 20th century, the place served as a centre for the so-called Pilsen Uprising in 1953 and for the demonstrations in 1989, during World War 2 it echoed to the march of both the occupying German soldiers and the liberating American army.

On this place

Shooting from the tower of Plzeň

Richard Smola

The American army’s goodbye

Mojmír Fencl