Air raids on Prague

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The Emmaus monastery destroyed by air raids

In World War II there were several air raids on Prague . Prague , the largest Czech city, was the capital of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under German occupation at the time .

First attack

On October 5, 1941, between 1:16 and 3:15 a.m. there was an air alarm in Prague. British bombers dropped about four incendiary bombs over the city.

Second attack

The second air raid occurred on November 15, 1944. Around noon, two aircraft of unknown origin dropped several bombs (an estimated 12) on the municipal power station (about 300 m west of today's Holešovice metro station ). The operating facilities remained undamaged. Four bombs exploded in front of an outbuilding, injuring 15 employees. In the surrounding residential buildings, people standing at windows are said to have been killed by splinters. About three bombs fell into the coal heap of the power plant and were later defused.

Third attack

Memorial to the Vinohrady Synagogue, which was destroyed in the American bombing and demolished after the war

The third air raid on Prague occurred on Ash Wednesday , February 14, 1945 and was carried out by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). According to American pilots, the bombing of the city was due to an error (as a result of navigation errors) - they were supposed to support the air raids on Dresden about 100 kilometers north of Prague.

The bombing

Approximately sixty Boeing B-17s of the American Eighth Air Force dropped 152 tons of bombs on various residential areas of Prague. The carpet of bombs hit areas on Vyšehrad , Vinohrady and Pankrác , among others . 700 people died in the attack. 68 buildings were completely destroyed, around 250 buildings were badly damaged. Some of them were historically valuable houses, e. B. the most magnificent synagogue in the city in Vinohrady and the Emmaus monastery in Prague's New Town . The extent of the bombing was significantly less than that of the air raids on most of the major German cities.

controversy

Although the Americans often expressed their regret and saw the reasons for their mistake in unfavorable weather conditions and an alleged similarity between Prague and Dresden from the air, the suspicion is still sometimes expressed that it could have been a targeted attack. According to witnesses, a group of bombers of a larger formation clearly separated from the other bombers and flew to Prague. However, the majority of historians believe that the air raids on Prague were in fact an accident.

Last attack

The last and largest air raid on Prague took place on Palm Sunday , March 25, 1945, also by the USAAF. This time it was a planned operation involving 650 bombers launched in Italy and escort fighters . The attack was aimed at the industrial plants in the east of Prague and the Prague-Kbely military airfield . According to the USAAF, Sunday was chosen for the attack in order to keep human casualties in the factories to a minimum. The weather was perfect. The attack took place in twelve waves of around 50 aircraft each between 11:48 and 13:02. A Me 262 was shot down by the P-38 escort fighters , which crashed near the Prague Zoo . As a result of the attack, 235 dead, 417 injured, 90 destroyed and 1,360 heavily damaged objects were recorded.

consequences

Some famous buildings of modern architecture in Prague, e.g. B. the Dancing House or the Emauzy Church are located in places of buildings destroyed by the air raids on Prague.

See also

Web links

Commons : Air raids on Prague  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Götz Bergander: Dresden in the air war. Würzburg 1977, pages 170-171.
  2. ^ The tragic American air raid on Prague on February 14, 1945 Military History Institute Prague, Ministry of Defense (Czech)