Jiří Friedl
Prace Historyczne, Numer 142 (1), 2015, s. 135 - 148
https://doi.org/10.4467/20844069PH.15.009.3505DELEGATION OF THE POLISH REPATRIATION MISSION IN PILSEN. ITS PARTICIPATION IN ILLEGAL TRANSFER OF POLISH PEOPLE AND THE STAFF MEMBERS ESCAPE TO THE WEST IN 1945
Czechoslovakia played an essential role in the repatriation of Polish people from the west after WWII. It was through the Czechoslovak territory that the trains with repatriates were passing from the American occupation zone in Germany, which made it necessary to expand the activity of repatriation institutions that took care of repatriates passing through Czechoslovakia. On 21st September 1945 Poland and Czechoslovakia signed a repatriation agreement on the cooperation between the two countries during the repatriation of their citizens. In the early September 1945 Po-
lish Repatriation Mission was founded in Prague and presided by capt. Edward Wojtkowski. It had its delegations mainly in north-west and west Czech territory. An essential role was played by the delegation in Pilsen, as the town was located near the border separating the Soviet and the American troops (the US army liberated part of west Czech lands together with Pilsen). It was revealed, however, that members of the repatriation delegation in Pilsen, apart from being involved in the repatriation activities, participated in illegal transfer of Polish people to the American zone. The article presents an analysis – on the basis of Czech and Polish sources – of illegal escapes of Po-
lish people, organized with the help of repatriation office workers from Pilsen. In November 1945, when the American army was withdrawing from the Czechoslovakia territory, Polish repatriation workers who participated in the illegal procedure left Pilsen with the American troops.