War graves week cwgc - Czech republic - Prague

https://www.cwgc.org/war-graves-week/

Wonder around a little cemetery in the Czech Republic 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everyone and welcome to Beater Battlefield. This week, the 16th to the 24th of May 2026, Marks War Graves Week. This is a very special week in the life of the Commonwealth Wargraves Commission. All over the world, there are three events tasking and showing the different types of work that the Commonwealth War Graves do. Formerly the Imperial War Graves Commission, it was created in 1917 for something that was completely new in the history of warfare. Prior to the outbreak of the First World War, there had been no fought for the dead, but with the mass numbers of men dying during the First World War, it was seen fit that these men needed to be remembered. And all those years later, we're still doing a great job. So, in this series of episodes, I've picked some of my favourite cemeteries to go to, but we're going to do some of the different countries. The Commonwealth War Graves looks after 1.7 million graves around the world in over 150 countries at 2,500 purpose-built cemeteries, and in the UK alone, there's 170,000 Commonwealth Wargraves that you can find in every little churchyard and major cemetery. So I hope you enjoy. So in this episode, we're going to cover the Czech Republic. As you wander around any European country, we'll always find those traces of war, but in Czechnya there are only 231 Commonwealth war graves, and they are based at the Prague Oslani Cemetery. Now, Prague is a beautiful city and it has so much to offer. There is a lot of history to see there if you're interested in the Second World War. Their rebellion at the end of the war, and obviously Operation Andropod, the execution of Reinhold Heydrich. But their military museum is absolutely amazing. And obviously, Czech Republic, the Czechoslovakia, and all those areas of the world have changed their borders, like many parts of Europe throughout the 20th century. But it's quite interesting to know that there were a large number of Czech people from Czechoslovakia who would serve in many different nations throughout that century. Many of them served with the French during the First and Second World War, and there was a large number of those who fought for the Commonwealth, especially with migration in the early part of the century, where many of them would move to Canada and then come back out to Europe to fight a foe. The Czechs are a wonderful bunch of people, and on a recent trip to Prague, which was my first time there, you can see how over the century the different movements of empires has changed the way that this Europe this European city is. Of course, during the Second World War it would be one of the first places to be invaded by the Nazis, and there are still scars of that time. I did this on a trip from Dresden, and I spent a night at the Terrazin Ghetto, or Tresenstadt as it was known, and then from there I moved on to Prague and spent two days wandering around this city. I'd always wanted to go to the site of Operation Anthropod, that execution spot where in so many films we see the last stand, those brave men from Czechoslovakia who fought in part of the British SOE. They aren't though they serve for the British Army, they haven't got Commonwealth War Graves. They're actually buried at Dublis in Prague. So if you are visiting Prague and wanting to see their graves, they're a different cemetery to the Commonwealth War Graves. Their military museum is absolutely amazing, and it's completely free, and it's not too far from the Oslen Olsney Cemetery. And I do apologise for any Czech speakers that I do sometimes get my words mixed up. It's when you visit so many different countries, sometimes the pronunciation doesn't come out. So there are 231 Commonwealth War graves at Olsney. There are 230 Second World War Graves, and there is one singular First World War grave, but we'll move on to that shortly. When you go to any of these European cemeteries, especially in Poland and some parts of Germany, you see a large amount of graves from all different conflicts. And here at in in Prague, we obviously have a large number of Russian graves. So for those final days of the Second World War where Prague was being liberated by the Red Army, countless numbers would be killed there. And obviously the Czech rebellions, the Czech resistance fighters, and the Czech army are also remembered in this cemetery. But also what's quite interesting, if you get on the Traces of War app, you can find a plot of men from Russia who enlisted in the German army. And the wooden crosses are still there and they're buried in one mass plot in that section. But that's a talk for another day. We're working on the Commonwealth Wargraves today. So as in any part of the world, you find these amazing Commonwealth War graves. Now, anywhere in the world, where the Commonwealth Wargraves, as we'd know on the Western Front and most of the United Kingdom, the graves are of Portland Stone. But the way that the Commonwealth Wargraves have created many of the cemeteries is they use the local products which makes it easier for them to reproduce these graves. So these graves are in a bit of a grey granite and they are embossed with sort of with black pen or black paint, so they stick out quite well. In this cemetery, there are a large number of prisoners of war. Obviously an occupied zone and prisoner of war camps all over the area. Many of these men here die of their wounds, and some would have died in the death marches in the final days. There are some air crew that were shot down over the Czech Republic who are now buried here today, and they're all laying side by side. Many prisoners from North Africa, caught in the early parts of the war, would be sent to Italy and then marched north into Austria, Czechoslovakia and Germany. What's quite interesting about this cemetery though is there are some quite unique graves, and it shows all different parts of the empire that you wouldn't normally get to see. Here we have many men from Cyprus. Obviously, Cyprus, an island which we still have a foothold in as part of the British Army, was part of the Empire once upon a time, and would have been a holding area when we were fighting out in Gallipoli. And then, of course, fighting over the Mediterranean, these islands were important bases for the British and Commonwealth forces, especially a dropping off point on our way out to Egypt, the taking of Palestine and Kutz during the First World War. But those men from that island, like many other islands around the Empire, sent a small force out to go and fight, and many of them would serve out in Palestine, but others would serve in other Mediterranean conflicts, and sadly would be taken prisoners of war and now lie out in Prague. One of the little campaigns of the Second World War that not many people talk about is the helping of partisans in Yugoslavia. My father-in-law would serve out in North Africa and then out in Italy, and we are trying to piece together parts of what he did during the war, but it is quite hard, especially being part of the Royal Engineers. Their records, though they are quite thorough, it's hard to pinpoint a man during the Second World War. But he did speak about the days at the end of the Second World War when he had to go out and help the partisans in that area. And we have men from the SAS buried here in Prague as well. It does show a different side of the war, and don't be surprised if you visit a Commonwealth Wargrave Cemetery in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a landlocked country, that you will find men from the Royal Navy. Many of them would be taken prisoner as well, and have to go to various different prisons of war camps, and sadly die of their wounds. This cemetery is like any other cemetery you'd find on the Western Front, but it's just unique that we've got this major metropolis of Prague, and it's something that not a lot of people would expect to see World War II British graves in this area of the world. But as I mentioned, there is one First World War grave, technically not First World War, but he died in December 1918, and that is Private Claude George. Now his story is particularly interesting. He's not buried in the Commonwealth War Graves plot, he's actually buried in amongst the area, in amongst the civilian graves, and to find him is quite hard. He is at the end of one of the rows, so if you are visiting the cemetery, one of the middle rows, you'll find him, you'll see that Commonwealth War Grave stuck out in the middle of nowhere. And it sticks out a little bit like a sore thumb if you can actually find it. Now Claude George, prior to the outbreak of the First World War, was a printer, and obviously once the armistice was signed in November 1918, we would send an occupation force into those areas, and he would work as part of the administration there. As he was a printer, he was able to create documents for the occupation forces at the time, and sadly he died of Spanish flu in the winter of 1918, as many would do. Spanish flu would claim more than the First World War ever would do, and we obviously think back to our COVID times, how a pandemic can rush through an entire country. It's only a very short podcast, but please listen to the other podcasts, and I'm going to take you through different countries where the Commonwealth Wargraves are found today. It'll take you down some different paths, but hopefully you enjoy this, and please look on the Commonwealth War Graves site if you want to research relatives who died during the first and second world war. But also, being Wargraves Week, you'll see many of the events that will occur during this week. Also, not just Wargraves Week, the Commonwealth Wargraves do events all over the world and at many different times. Of course, they do the rededications and the reburials out in northern France, but as part of my work with the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation, we want to outreach, to work with members of the public to keep these people's memories alive.