The Fall, Occupation, Resistance, Dictatorship and Liberation of Prague with Guy Walters

Itinerary

1. Day

   1

   Travel and Introduction to Prague

   Prague, Czech Republic

   Fly from London to Prague. Upon arrival, visit Prague Castle where in March 1939, Emil Hácha was summoned to Berlin and coerced by Adolf Hitler into allowing the German occupation. Within hours, German troops entered Prague and Hitler himself stood here on the castle balcony proclaiming the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. It was here that Czechoslovak state effectively died.

   Later, visit Wenceslas Square, scene of both Nazi rallies during the occupation and then the communist demonstrations. The square was often a political barometer of Czech history. The nearby Petschek Palace, today the US Embassy, became Gestapo headquarters and many Czech resistance fighters were interrogated and tortured here.

   End the day at Charles University, scene of student demonstrations in 1939 that led the Nazis to close the university and execute student leaders, it was the origins of International Students' Day, still commemorated worldwide.

   This evening, enjoy a welcome drink in the hotel after check-in.

2. Day

   2

   Terror and Resistance (1941–1942)

   Prague, Czech Republic

   After breakfast this morning, focus on the Heydrich period and the assassination, including visits to the Panenské Břežany, the residency of Reinhard Heydrich and from where he drove into Prague on the morning he was assassinated.

   Visit the hairpin bend where Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš attacked Heydrich during Operation Anthropoid, before ending the morning at Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral. It was in this crypt where the resistance fighters made their last stand against the SS.

   This afternoon, visit the village of Lidice and see the memorial landscape whilst learning of the destruction of the village and scale of Nazi reprisals.

3. Day

   3

   Liberation and Communist Takeover (1945–1948)

   Prague, Czech Republic

   After breakfast this morning, begin in the Old Town Square, which witnessed intense fighting during the Prague Uprising with barricades filling the streets.

   See the Czech Radio Building where the uprising began after the resistance seized the radio station as street battles raged around this building.

   Later, visit the Kinský Palace where, in February 1948, Klement Gottwald announced the Communist takeover, marking the start of the dictatorship.

4. Day

   4

   The Communist Police State (1950s–1960s)

   Prague, Czech Republic

   After breakfast this morning, start at Bartolomějská Street, the HQ of the State Security (StB). This building became the symbol of surveillance and repression. We next visit Ruzyně Prison where numerous political prisoners and dissidents were held.

   This afternoon, visit Strahov Stadium - the scene of enormous Spartakiad mass gymnastics displays and propaganda spectacles of communist unity.

   A final farewell drinks reception will be held on our return to the hotel.

5. Day

   5

   Reform, Invasion and Revolution (1968–1989)

   Prague, Czech Republic

   After breakfast this morning, begin at Wenceslas Square to cover the Prague Spring reform movement that led to the Soviet invasion in August 1968. Famous for Jan Palach's self-immolation in 1969, it was later the scene of mass demonstrations of 1989.

   Visit the Prague National Museum, its building still showing the scars of damage from Soviet tanks during the invasion. The nearby Národní třída was the site of a police assault on demonstrators in November 1989 that triggered the Velvet Revolution.

   The tour ends by returning to Prague Castle, where it had begun. Here in December 1989, Václav Havel became president in the same castle where Hitler had stood fifty years earlier.

   Transfer to the airport for your return flight to London.