Tuesday, May 12, 2015

70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Pilsen

Last weekend we traveled to Pilsen, Czech Republic to experience the 70th anniversary of Pilsen's liberation. In the spring of 1945, American troops liberated Western Europe from the Nazis town by town. The Czech people who witnessed this liberation and their descendants are still very grateful to the American troops who gave them back their freedom.

Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the liberation parade. Most of the people in the parade were dressed up as soldiers from the 1940s.




The crowd cheered the loudest when the trucks carrying the actual liberators and their descendants drove past. All of the liberators are in their late 80s and 90s by now, so just traveling all the way to the Czech Republic is impressive, not to mention the abundance of enthusiasm they displayed.
Helen Patton, granddaughter of General George Patton




One of the final segments of the parade was trucks carrying current U.S. military from Chris' unit. The Czech people wanted to shake hands and high five as many service members as they could.


After the parade, we walked to Pilsen's main square. Food and beer booths lined the square and a stage was set up for different singing and dancing groups to perform.





I tried Czech kielbasa and their famous Pilsner-Urquell beer for lunch

After lunch, we were honored to talk with U.S. Army veteran Vernon Schmidt who helped liberate the city of Pilsen among many others. His memory of the events of the war are as vivid now as when they happened in 1945, even though 70 years have gone by since the end of WWII.



Chris shared with Vernon that he is a current U.S. soldier, and that we are stationed in Vilseck, Germany. Vernon knew Vilseck, both as an area his unit passed through on their way to Pilsen back in 1945, and as a U.S. military base he has visited in recent years. The moment Chris mentioned he was a U.S. soldier, Vernon's face lit up, and they both began reminiscing about two wars separated by several generations.

On April 23, 1945 Vernon's unit, the 90th Infantry Division, liberated the Flossenburg concentration camp, which is less than an hour away from where we live. I have visited the concentration camp's museum and grounds 4 times already, and I felt like I knew so much about the town's dark history, but a more complete picture of the experience was painted for me when Vernon recalled his first-hand experience of the horrors he witnessed in Flossenburg. A tear welled up in his eye when he told us that a fellow soldier was the one who had to turn off the conveyor belt that transported prisoners' bodies to the crematorium. Vernon has been back to the site of the concentration camp and was impressed with how the German people are now using their dark past as an educational tool to teach future generations how not to let history repeat itself.

Below are some pictures I took at the Flossenburg concentration camp last year. I unknowingly took a picture of the plaque thanking the 90th Infantry Division for liberating the camp.

Vernon's unit, the 90th Infantry Division

A mound of ashes from the mass killings

The crematorium at Flossenburg concentration camp

Reenactment of a military flag folding
 No day in Europe would be complete without trying a few local desserts!

A Czech lazenske oplatky

A Czech trdelnik

Helen Patton performing
We walked into a tent that was displaying all current U.S. Army uniforms and gear. Chris found it a bit surreal to see items that he wears and uses everyday displayed in a "museum" setting.


We are so fortunate to live in an area with so much history. We try to remind ourselves constantly how lucky we are to be able to attend such historical places and events, such as the Pilsen Liberation Festival. This was truly a humbling experience, and it makes us so proud to be Americans.