The Petschek Palace    <=|   03   |=>  
    In May 1939 a managing office was formed out of the headquarters of the operation group I with thier seat in the Petschek Palace. In summer 1939 SS Sturmbannfűhrer Dr. Hans Ulrich Geschke became their chief. In a short time he formed a network of outdoor branch-offices in Bohemia. The fight against the growing Czech national liberation movement was lead by the headquarters in Prague, especially against the illegal Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) which from the very beginning fough against the criminal occupation and proclaimed a decisive fight against the Nazis.
The Prague executive office did not fulfit the tasks of the Central Office only, but at the same time the leading part of the office for Prague and its nearest vicinity. That is why Gestapo carried out a number of adjustments in the Petschek Palace. In the basement they established several cells, so that it was not necessary to transfer the interrogated to the police prison again and again.  In the so-called "home-prison", which later on J. Fučík called so typically "cinema". The examinees were sitting for hours unmovable on wooden benches under the supervision of Gestapo or they were standing near the wall waiting either for the interrogation of for transport into prison.
    The executive offices of Gestapo in Prague and Brno issued orders for the subordinate outdoor offices to carry out further mass arrestations in connection with the beginning of the war against Poland.  The action called Albrecht I began in the morning on September 1st, 1939.  About 2000 hostages from Czech countries were sent to concentration camps in Buchenwald and Dachau.
    In spite of an extensive terror the Czech revolt strengthened. On the 28th od Ostober 1939 our people made public their resistance against the occupants all over the Czech countries. The biggest demonstrations arose in Prague.  There were collissions with Gestapo on Wenceslas Square and in all neighbouring streets, groups of SS and SA made even use  of against the demonstrationists.
The miner Václav Sedláček was shot down and on the 11th of November 1939 even the student Jan Opletal succumbed to his serious injuries. About 400 persons were sent to prison, part of them had to go through the Petschek Palace, others the prisons of Gestapo on Pankrác od Charles' square.