Prior To Uprising
Several factors greatly influenced the daily life of the majority of people, including the militarization of the economy, the elimination of political rights, transportation to Germany for forced labor, and national oppression. Various forms of German oppression in the cities affected not only the working class, but also the "middle strata"—the small and middle businessmen, and the lower categories of state and civic employees, for example.
The most important task of the Czechs was to stop the Germans from disturbing what Czechoslovak territory they still occupied as well as to stop them from continuing the war on Czech soil. The goal of the resistance was to force the German occupants to retreat to Germany. The Czech Resistance needed the support and help of the Red Army in order to become fully liberated.
As the ending to the war was coming closer, it had a powerful effect on the residents of all over Czechoslovakia. In fact, it strengthened their longing to explicitly demonstrate their bitter hatred toward the German occupants. During the German occupation or protection of Czechoslovakia, tensions had built up because of oppression. This would later lead to the expulsion of three million Sudeten Germans from their homes of 800 years.
In the spring of 1945 throughout Czechoslovakia, there were both many large and small partisan groups that totaled about 7,500 men. These followers mostly took part in the "battle of the rails", in which they disturbed the railway and highway transportation, attacked trains and stations, as well as German troop trains, and damaged tracks and bridges. For example, there were some lines the Germans could use only in the daytime and not even every day.
On the eve of the uprising, the propaganda activities of the group called the Communist Youth, were in full swing, but didn’t last long. The communist groups whose solidarity had been broken by arrests in March were somehow able to work under the tough circumstances of illegality.
Read more about this topic: Prague Uprising
Famous quotes containing the words prior to, prior and/or uprising:
“Prior to the meeting, there was a prayer. In general, in the United States there was always praying.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
“As humans have a prior right to existence over dogs by virtue of being more highly evolved and having a superior consciousness, so women have a prior right to existence over men. The elimination of any male is, therefore, a righteous and good act, an act highly beneficial to women as well as an act of mercy.”
—Valerie Solanas (b. 1940)
“An uprising would punish only the country, and that is out of the question. But there is yet another approach, the most effective form of resistance: contemptuous compliance.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)