budějcá history

i was born on the “last frontier” (that’s alaska, y’all) and lived all of my life up to this point on the west coast… an area not particularly known for rich history. sure, seattle has the historic pioneer square district but you’d be hard-pressed to find beautiful old buildings in any other area of the city. which is why i’m so enjoying living in europe– being the living history of this historic continent. of course, not all history is positive, but i do think all history of a place is fact (we can’t choose it) should be observed, considered, and learned from if possible.

i came across a fascinating article (in czech) a couple of weeks ago about the nazi occupation of ceske budějovice that occurred 75 years ago this spring. it’s so hard to imagine that this peaceful place was taken over by this wave of evil. anyone that has visited budějovice can attest to what a relaxed and happy place it seems today, making it harder to imagine what this must have been like for the people here.

Generals walking Prumysl Ottakar II square in Ceske Budejovice, 1939

Nazis taking power in the Budejovice town hall, 1939

Hans Western decree of March 16, 1939

…

of course budejovice is far from being my hometown, but having lived here over a year i feel the same reactions from looking at these photos as i would imagine the czechs here do.