Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

• 1. The Proclamation From Prague Castle

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  Adolf Hitler stood inside the historic walls of Prague Castle on the 16th of March 1939 to declare a new political reality. He spoke words that would echo through history as he established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The proclamation stated that these provinces had been part of the German people's living space for a thousand years. This moment marked the end of Czechoslovakia's existence as an independent state. It followed the earlier annexation of the Sudetenland in October 1938 under the Munich Agreement. Five months later, the agreement was violated when Germany occupied the remaining Czech lands. Hitler invited President Emil Hácha to Berlin and demanded his acceptance of the occupation. The resulting protectorate claimed nominal autonomy while real power rested with Nazi authorities. The model for this arrangement resembled the Princely states in India under British rule. German media explicitly compared Reich Protector Konstantin von Neurath to a British resident monitoring an Indian maharajah. Hitler hoped this structure would make the violation more acceptable to Britain. When it failed, German newspapers launched campaigns denouncing British hypocrisy.

• 2. Gold Reserves And War Production

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  Germany faced a severe foreign exchange crisis by early 1939 after exhausting its reserves. The Four Year Plan launched in September 1936 faltered due to shortages of raw materials needed for armaments. Seizing Czech gold became urgent to continue the ambitious economic program. Historian Victor Rothwell noted that the gold and hard currency taken from the Czechoslovak central bank were invaluable. The protectorate population was mobilized to work in coal mines and steel industries. Special offices supervised industrial production for the German war economy. Consumer goods production diminished as resources shifted toward supplying armed forces. The Czech crown was devalued at a rate of 10 crowns to one Reichsmark instead of the fair 6 to 1 ratio. This policy allowed Germans to purchase everything cheaply within the protectorate. Inflation became a major problem throughout the occupation period. Wages did not rise to match inflation rates, causing living standards to decrease. Even ethnic Germans living in the area complained their conditions worsened under Nazi rule. By 1939, the country served as a major hub for military manufacturing including aircraft and tanks.

• 3. The Gestapo And Student Executions

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  Czech students demonstrated against the occupation on the 28th of October 1939 during the 21st anniversary of independence. Medical student Jan Opletal died on the 15th of November 1939 after being wounded in the earlier violence. His death precipitated widespread demonstrations that triggered severe German retaliation. Politicians were arrested en masse along with an estimated 1,800 students and teachers. On the 17th of November all universities and colleges closed permanently across the territory. Nine student leaders faced execution while 1,200 others went to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Further arrests and executions continued throughout the remaining years of occupation. Reinhard Heydrich replaced Neurath as Deputy Reichsprotektor on the 29th of September 1941. He appointed SS hardliners who took over day-to-day operations from the previous administrator. Prime Minister Alois Eliáš was arrested and later executed following his contacts with the government-in-exile. All Czech cultural organizations shut down under Heydrich's authority. The Gestapo arrested and murdered people systematically throughout this period. Deportation of Jews to concentration camps began organizing immediately after these changes.

• 4. Martial Law And Village Massacres

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  Operation Anthropoid occurred on the 4th of June 1942 when Czechoslovak commandos wounded Reinhard Heydrich. He died shortly after receiving medical treatment for his injuries. Directives issued by successor Kurt Daluege brought forth mass arrests and executions. Martial law resulted in the obliteration of villages including Lidice and Ležáky. Thousands became involved in resistance movements during the final months before war ended. The number of Czech victims totaled between 36,000 and 55,000 political prisoners and murder victims. Heydrich allegedly referred to Czechs as laughing beasts reflecting Nazi racial beliefs about their inferiority. Karl Hermann Frank served as German minister of state for Bohemia and Moravia from 1943 onward. Under his authority all non-war-related industry became prohibited within the protectorate. Most of the population obeyed quietly until those final months preceding liberation. The vast majority of Romani internees were sent to Lety and Hodonín camps before transfer to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their language became totally extinct due to the thoroughness of extermination efforts.

• 5. The Holocaust In Bohemian Lands

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  Jewish populations numbered 118,000 according to the 1930 census before occupation began. Over 75,000 Jews were murdered during the Holocaust period in this territory. Of 92,199 people classified as Jews by German authorities in 1939, 78,154 died representing 85 percent. Many families emigrated after 1939 while others survived at Terezín concentration camp used for propaganda purposes. Several thousand individuals managed living freedom or hiding throughout the entire occupation years. Theresienstadt concentration camp held Western European and German Jews alongside local populations. It was not an extermination camp itself but harsh conditions caused death among 33,000 of 140,000 brought there. A further 88,000 were sent to actual extermination camps while only 19,000 survived. The fortress town of Terezín functioned as a ghetto way-station for Jewish families. Romani internees faced similar systematic annihilation through concentration camp transfers. The vast majority of Romani today descend from migrants who moved within post-war Czechoslovakia.

• 6. The Dual Government System

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  Ultimate authority within the Protectorate rested with the Reich Protector office held by various Nazi administrators. Konstantin von Neurath served from the 21st of March 1939 until his resignation on the 24th of August 1943. Reinhard Heydrich acted as Deputy Reichsprotektor from the 29th of September 1941 until his death on the 4th of June 1942. Kurt Daluege took over from the 5th of June 1942 until the 24th of August 1943 before Wilhelm Frick assumed power. Karl Hermann Frank handled internal security as State Secretary from 1939 to 1945. Emil Hácha served as Czech State President throughout the entire occupation period from 1939 to 1945. Rudolf Beran continued holding Minister President office after German takeover until replaced by Alois Eliáš. Eliáš was executed on the 19th of June 1942 following his contacts with London-based government-in-exile. Jaroslav Krejčí led the government from January 1942 until Richard Bienert took over in early 1945. The local Czech administration consisted of ministries for Education, Finance, Justice and Trade among others. Foreign policy and military defense remained under exclusive German control.

• 7. Teachers And The Intelligentsia

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  School teachers faced immense pressure to conform to Nazi occupation policies within the protectorate. Karl Frank called them the most dangerous wing of the intelligentsia while Heydrich labeled them training core of opposition. Teachers had to demonstrate fluency in German and greet students with fascist salutes saying Sieg Heil. School inspectors made surprise visits to classrooms while all exam board chairpersons became ethnic Germans. Some teachers and students acted as Gestapo informers spreading mistrust across the school system. One teacher recalled how uncertainty destroyed any feeling of comradeship among children. Despite pressures many quietly inserted anti-Reich ideas into lessons while refusing to use fascist greetings. About 1,000 Czech teachers were executed or imprisoned during first six months of 1944 alone. By 1945 approximately 5,000 teachers sat in concentration camps where one fifth died. Around 40 percent of all Czech teachers lost their jobs by end of occupation reaching 60 percent in Prague. Generalplan Ost declared that about half Czech population suitable for Germanization while removing intellectual elite completely.