Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a Protectorate established by Nazi Germany following the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. It existed for the duration of World War II, encompassing the historical Czech lands of Bohemia, Moravia, and part of Silesia, with its capital in Prague. The regime was a nominally autonomous administration under the ultimate authority of the German Reich, characterized by brutal occupation, economic exploitation, and the systematic persecution of its population.

Establishment and political structure

The protectorate was proclaimed on 16 March 1939, one day after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and the declaration of the independent Slovak Republic under Jozef Tiso. Adolf Hitler summoned Czechoslovak President Emil Hácha to Berlin and coerced his acceptance of German protection under threat of the bombing of Prague. The legal basis was the decree of the Führer concerning the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, which made the territory part of Greater Germany. While Hácha remained as State President and a Czech government under Alois Eliáš and later Jaroslav Krejčí was maintained, real power resided with the Reich Protector, initially Konstantin von Neurath, and the German occupation authorities.

German administration and occupation policies

The administration was a dual system, with a facade of Czech autonomy overshadowed by direct German control through the Office of the Reich Protector and the Sudeten German SS apparatus. The Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst under figures like Karl Hermann Frank wielded immense power, enforcing Nazi policies and suppressing dissent. Following the outbreak of World War II, the occupation intensified, with von Neurath's perceived leniency leading to his effective replacement by the ruthless Reinhard Heydrich in September 1941. Heydrich's regime, known for its terror, culminated in his assassination in Operation Anthropoid, which triggered savage reprisals including the destruction of Lidice and Ležáky.

Economic exploitation and war production

The Nazi economy systematically integrated the protectorate's advanced industrial base into the German war machine. Key enterprises like the Škoda Works in Plzeň, the ČKD conglomerate in Prague, and the Zbrojovka Brno arms factory were placed under direct control of the Hermann Göring-owned Reichswerke Hermann Göring. Production was redirected to supply the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe with weapons, vehicles, and aircraft. Forced labor policies conscripted hundreds of thousands of Czech workers for industry and sent many to the Reich, while agricultural output was requisitioned to support the German war effort, leading to severe shortages for the local population.

Resistance and repression

Resistance took various forms, from clandestine intelligence gathering for the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London under Edvard Beneš, to sabotage in factories and partisan activities. Key groups included the ÚVOD (Central Leadership of Home Resistance) and the communist-led partisan brigades. The Gestapo response was brutal and efficient, resulting in mass arrests, executions at sites like the Kobylisy Shooting Range and Pankrác Prison, and the decimation of resistance networks, particularly after the Heydrichiáda terror following Heydrich's death. Despite this, the resistance persisted, culminating in the Prague uprising in May 1945.

The Holocaust and persecution

The protectorate implemented the Nuremberg Laws, leading to the systematic persecution and deportation of its Jewish population. The Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Prague, initially headed by Adolf Eichmann, organized the concentration of Jews in the ghetto at Terezín (Theresienstadt), which served as a transit camp to Auschwitz and other extermination camps in Poland. Over 70,000 Czech Jews were murdered. The regime also targeted the Romani people, sending thousands to camps, and persecuted the Czech intelligentsia, with many academics and students sent to Sachsenhausen after the closure of Czech universities.

Dissolution and aftermath

The protectorate collapsed with the advance of the Allied armies in the final days of World War II in Europe. The Prague uprising began on 5 May 1945, and after fierce fighting, the city was liberated primarily by the Red Army in the Prague Offensive, though units of the Russian Liberation Army also became involved. The Third Czechoslovak Republic was restored, with Edvard Beneš returning as president. The postwar period saw the Beneš decrees, leading to the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans, and the protectorate's existence was declared null and void, its leaders like Karl Hermann Frank tried and executed for war crimes.