The Petschek Palace
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On
the 15th of November 1939 the transfer of the remains of the dead student
J. Opletal in Prague changed to further demonstrations of many thousandds.
After the consultation in Berlin K. H. Frank, the higher executive office
of SS and police summoned a session to the seat of Gestapo into the Petschek
Palace, where it was decided to close down the Univesristies. In
the night from the 16th to the 17th od November 1939 the students' colleges
were to be attacked. 1.200 students were dragged off to concentration camps
and nine representatives of the students' clubs were put to death for warning.
These criminal step should have broken the resistance of the Czech nation.
With
the growth of the illegal revolt movement even the number of arrested and
interrogated Communists was steadily growing, which made Gestapo estblish
the so-called "fourhundered" on the fourth floor in the Petscek Palace.
J. Fučík wrote in his book "Report from under the Gallows" so characteristically:
! It arose in the year 1940, when the agency of the department against
the communists was growing. It was a branch of the homeprison "cinema",
a branch of the waiting room for the examinees, fixed for the Communists,
so that it were not necessary to take them again from the ground-floor
to the fourth floor because of each question and to be at a constant disposal
for the investigators of Gestapo," The so-called "400" belonged to one
of the largest and most important departments-against communism.
1941
The Czech
revolt and the movement of resistance was strengthening, it began to be
activity engaged, even the number of sabotage was increasing. In consequence
of the attack upon the Soviet Union on the 22nd of June 1941 the course
and the character of the Second World War enormously changed. The
Communists organized active struggle against the fascists, aimed at the
damage of traffic and war production. In many enterprises they organized
even extensive strikes. The hardest strike-riots arose in Jinonice Waltrovka,
now Motorlet on the 11th of September 1941. The chief of the antifascist
department W. Leimer together with Gestapo arrested 300 factory workers,
who had to