Poválečné osudy šumavských rodáků - Vzpomínky německých obyvatel na odsud ze Šumavy – Franková Maria (2019)

The last years before the outbreak of World War II, the war itself, and the first months after its end were a time when the world was turned upside down. The book you have just opened is composed of the memories of German residents who were displaced from Šumava between 1945 and 1947. It is not a pleasant read, but we must welcome the effort of the author, Marie Franková, who gathered written and oral testimonies from thirty-two women and men, most of whom lost their homes at a very young age, homes where their ancestors had lived for several centuries. It must have been very cruel for them, and it is no wonder that even after more than half a century, they see it as at least a great injustice. The memories of that truly harsh time reveal several interesting things. With one exception, no one mentions that the Sudeten Germans became Hitler's "fifth column" and, by supporting the territorial claims of Nazi Germany, contributed to the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. They do not see or do not want to see that it was a mistake – for them, everything bad begins only with the end of the war. What happened before seems to have not existed. But as all the witnesses agree, not all Czechs returning or coming to the borderlands were evil and cruel. There were also quite a few...