Database Reveals Lives of Czechoslovaks Executed by Nazis

First 300 Stories Now Online
With the project's first phase the detailed profiles of 300 people who were executed in Dresden on the orders of the regional court, are released. These profiles have pictures and, in some cases, farewell notes written close to the time of execution.

Almost 900 Czechoslovaks died in Dresden for reasons of an alleged dissidence, resistance with use of force, deserting and criminal and economic offences.

The project’s co-founder, Ladislav Kudrna, said the aim was to provide a respectful and truthful memorial to those who lost their lives to Nazi justice.

He said it appears the majority were killed for resisting totalitarian rule but that there’s evidence in the archive that produced painful personal tragedies that often play out during war.

One of the more heart-rending sections is the letters sent by men on death row after being denied clemency. Bedřich Suchý, thrown into prison for listening to foreign radio stations in his tavern, told his wife and daughter: “My dearest! I am leaving and not coming back. 6 o’clock everything will end for me tonight.” Thanks for everything and live with love.”

One other man who was beheaded for high treason, Bohumil Suchánek wrote: “I won’t write another letter. Tonight, I will be dead.”

Still, the database continues to grow and already stores a variety of stories, from those of resistance fighters and high-rank officials to innocent civilians who happened to be in the way of a war machine. Ludvík Fousek, a butcher, was arrested and executed with other shop workers for trading illegal meat.

His wife was present during the trial and did not lose hope that her husband might live until the early 1960s. Václav Tříska was a fortune-teller executed for burglary after he got lost in the house he had broken into during one of the air blackout drills. Václav Zboníček also actively resisted. A former engineer and businessman who used to work for Škoda, he started sharing production information with Allied agents after the factory fell under military control in 1939. Captured in 1944, he was executed for high treason.

His body never returned to his family: it was kept by Nazis and then by the Soviet authorities despite his wife’s multiple pleas. Most of the cases were judged on the territory of Czechoslovakia. Only overcharges of high treason or political crimes returned to the German territory to avoid violent resistance from the family members of the accused.

As has already been said, the database has been recognized for its scope and power. The relatives of the defendants are also asked to share the personal stories, documents, and photographs to contribute to the overall volume of information. With each new participant, the database turns into a full-fledged memorial.