European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

“We were warned”

These preparations that we were able to make

before German fascism marched into the German areas of Czechoslovakia,

they had become relevant after German fascism got rid of the Austrian cleric-fascism in 1934

and replaced it by the Nazi regime and then proclaimed the ‘Großdeutsches Reich’ (Greater German Reich).

That took place on the 12th and 13th March 1938.

Ever since then we knew that the next victim would be Czechoslovakia,

the last democratic stronghold in central Europe.

That meant we had enough room to prepare ourselves for the illegal work,

the anti-fascist fight from March 1938 until the Munich Agreement on 29th September 1938.

That made the difference between the anti-fascist fight in the German areas of Czechoslovakia,

which are now called ‘Sudetenland’,

and the fight of the German and Austrian anti-Fascists

who did neither have these experiences, nor these preparation times.

Therefore the efficiency of our fight was higher.

There were no party obligations to take part in the resistance.

It was a voluntary decision whether or not you put up a fight,

whether you would take the risk to stand with one foot in the grave.

This decision had to be made by everyone alone.