HOW THE NAZIS WIPED CZECHOSLOVAKIA OFF THE MAP 

LampionManCZ, thank you for your compliments and if you think people might be interested, please do share. In fairness, it's possibly down to the dreaded YT algorithm, the fact that I am very focussed on the Czechs and their history but mainly because I don't promote the channel enough. I'm just a one man band. :)

@@TheMaskedGuide It's impressive what one man can do but I do have to say that RU-vid's algorithm is broken.

Reil Neid, thank you so much for taking the time to comment - I glad you appreciate the time I put into the videos.

Rachel, thank you for your message and for sharing the terribly sad story about your grandmother. I’ll try to look in to it for you, but it might help, if you are able to provide me with a name as a starting point or any more information you know about her such as place of birth, date of birth etc. Rather than posting the information here, and to secure any personal data, it would be better if you were to write to me at my email address, themaskedguide@gmail.com . I look forward to hearing from you.

Greetings from Czechia, I'm Jana, it's Jochannan in such noble language. I'm from Prague, local and historian (kinda, didn't finish studies tbh). If you want to know about your heritage, I will be happy to help you, it's my hobby. I will not give the my info if you don!t need it. Otherwise, nice to read you.

John, thank you for your comment? Czech ancestry? How many generations?

Thank for commenting and sharing your tragic family story. I hope you are able to discover more about your great grandfather. There must be a number of organisations that can help you. Which ones have you tried?

My family in Czech were people that the Nazis deemed "able to be Germanized", so they left us alone.

I just posted that my Baba was throwing rocks and resisting the Germans as they came into Prague. She was thrown in a labor camp but I have no idea where. I have been trying to research to find out where she could have been sent. In your research did you find out what labor camps people were sent to?

@@rachelk2311 Most yes. The Nazi's kept extensive records. Some camps also had some very complex "identification" systems. There are many databases online with the records that were not destroyed. I suggest the Aroslen Archives they were a huge help for me, many other databases exist also. I hope you are able to find what you are looking for. ❤

Valorum, Thank you for taking time to comment - this is what I hoped for i.e. that people will engage with the topic and correct me, if needs be, or give me a better insight into a topic. I am not a historian, though I try to draw on as many sources as possible when putting these videos together; however, I am aware, as we have seen recently, that past events are often interpreted differently depending on politics, nationalism, race and a host of different prejudices takes that help shape the’ desired ‘ narrative. A prime example would be how Tiso is today perceived in The Czech Republic and in Slovakia. The Czechs still see him as an opportunist who stabbed them in the back at a critical moment for the sake of grabbing power for himself and the creation of an independent Slovak state. On the other hand, some Slovaks see him in a different light- yes, he did allow Slovakia to come a Nazi puppet state, and his attitude to the Jews contributed without doubt to the holocaust, but at the same time he was a saviour, a saint and, if he were not the leader, things could have been much worse. The Tiso quotation you sent me comes from 1943 - 4 years after Slovakia declared an independent state on March 14th. In this paragraph from ‘ Czechslovakia: The state that failed by Mary Heinmann, page 105 … she says this ‘Accounts of the famous meeting between Tiso and Hitler that followed are in broad agreement about what was said, but differ, sometimes sharply, over whether the Slovak delegation was bullied or only tempted into declaring independence. Even Tiso later told two versions of the story: in one, the Führer had generously warned him that the Slovaks would have to act quickly if they wished to decide their own destiny; in the other, Slovakia would never have opted for independence had it not been for the pressure under which it had been placed by Hitler’. According to Heinmann’s references this information came from the notes of ‘ Dr Tiso’s report to the Slovak Parliament March 14th 1939’. So, there were already two stories circulating before Tiso made this announcement 4 years later. Perhaps it was in Tiso’s best interest to have two versions of the story - just so he could ‘walk things back’ . A recent example comes from the Trump/Putin Summit in Helsinki. Trump said he couldn't see any reason why Russia "would" have been involved in the U.S. presidential election what he meant to say was "wouldn't." "I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't,'" Trump explained, speaking at the White House more than 24 hours after his news conference with Putin began drawing fire from allies and critics alike. "The sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.'" So, to finish, and from what I have read, regardless of what is actually the true story, it is clear that Tiso was manipulated by the Nazis who saw him as an opportunity to finally break up Czechoslovakia and, to do so, they played on Tiso’s personal and nationalistic ambitions.

​@@TheMaskedGuide Thank you for your kind reply and willingness to dialogue. However, the point I made isn't subject to interpretation. It has been studied extensively and there is a historical consensus (among both Czechs and Slovaks). Perhaps the most grievous statement was "It was the Slovaks who were chiefly responsible for handing the Nazis a bloodless coup" It's akin to one's wife being held at gunpoint, and "encouraged" to sign a divorce contract and then blaming her for the breakup of the marriage, haha. So before giving you the transcript of the Slovak Parliament minutes, here's a summary of the March 13th Berlin meeting: At the meeting with Hitler and Ribbentrop, Tiso was informed of the irreversible and imminent decision of Germany to occupy Bohemia and Moravia, and Slovakia had to decide on her fate. If Slovakia lags, Germany will leave its fate to events, for which it no longer has responsibility. In the event that Slovakia declares independence, Hitler has shown a willingness to guarantee its existence. The decision was according to Hitler to be taken not in a day, but an hour. The threat was also reinforced by a "random" report of the Hungarian army's move to the Slovak border, which Ribbentrop had presented to Hitler during the talks. Tiso refused to declare independence, citing it as an unconstitutional step. Instead, he contacted President Hácha on the phone and, with his consent, called for a session of the Slovak parliament on March 14 at 10.00. The pressure on Slovak politicians continued after the official meeting with Hitler. Tiso stood his ground and refused to succumb to Nazi threats for almost six hours. In order to facilitate his situation, Ribbentrop presented Tiso with a pre-written speech of a declaration of independence and offered him a Berlin Broadcast Translator. After his refusal, he was given an ultimatum by which he had to declare independence by the second day of 12.00. In the early hours of the next day (1:30 am), Slovak politicians, given the tight deadline, agreed to sign a "protective telegram", which could be revoked by a decision of the parliament and were transported to the airport." And here is the transcript of the Slovak Parliament session's final moments the next day: Josef Tiso: "I further made clear to the German representatives on multiple occasions that concerning our union with the Czechs, we on our side will never put forward or lend impulse to an initiative that would lead to the dissolution of the Republic. Only should such events occur where no alternative exists and it be in the best interest of the Slovak people will we vote for such a measure." In my meeting with the Reich Chancellor, he told me: "I did not concern myself with this problem, only when the gentlemen in Vienna explained it to me and on the basis of these explanations and occasional reports did I come to the conviction that the Slovak nation wants to live, and is fighting for that, that is why I lent my support to it. As I said, I was not aware of this problem, I only received an occasional report. Without my support your fate would have been altogether different. I made the Hungarians angry when I told them they had no claims over the Slovaks and territories inhabited by them unless a plebiscite occurred that indicated they wanted to join Hungary. But as long as they want to live their own lives you cannot make any claims to them which infuriated the Hungarians. Yet now I see that Bratislava is ruled by an old spirit, the current government is evidence thereof. We don't want the Slovaks but will not continue to support them unless they themselves don't want to, unless they make clear they want independence with all its consequences. Otherwise we will not tell the Hungarians that the Slovaks don't belong to Hungary, rather that I have no interest in the matter, and it is for the Slovaks to deal with." Josef Tiso: It is here I understood the root of the matter, the issue with Hungary and that a clear danger exists Next, the Reich Chancellor read me a report from Hungary, that the Hungarians intend to occupy Slovakia in the next few days. Therefore tonight the decision must be taken "Aber blitzschnell" it must be taken. This means that the relevant delegates must announce that Slovakia is its own state, with its own territory with no one permitted entry there-into. There is no time to delay, it's not a question of days but hours. He again used the words blitzschnell are we deciding our position as is in the interests of Germany in Europe. We don't intend to anger others for your sake, we are only here to defend our own interests according to the Volkstum principle. However those who want to live under their own national identity, those can fall within that principle. That is something you have to decide, but as I said blitzschnell. After this I informed the Reich Chancellor to forgive me for not being able to answer concretely, but whatever should happen, the Slovak people will not give you the chance to regret for what you have done for them. That was the essence of the talks, which we discussed among ourselves until 2am before our departure from Berlin Esteemed assembly, I deposit the record of my Berlin trip and request that you consider it and take a decision. Parliament session closed at 11.15 and re-opened at 12.06 You have all seen the report by Mr. Sikora about representative Jozef Tiso's discussions with the Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler and the Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop. A decision must now be taken regarding whether to declare an independent Slovak State or not. Let all those in favor stand. 12.07 Decision passes (the number for or against not recorded) Also since you took issue with Tiso's statement being from 1943, here's another from 1942: "During the Czechoslovak Republic, there was no Slovak who would even discuss the idea of an independent Slovak state, let alone propose it in a political platform. A consensus existed that were this to occur, the Slovak nation would suffer. Let us not falsify history and rather hold on to truth, the only ones who supported the idea were foreign agents who we ourselves denounced as traitors." While there's a lot more that could be added I believe the above offers a pretty clear picture. At the same time, I concede there is evidence that privately, Tiso saw Slovak independence as an eventual goal. (after Munich) A goal that would take years to cultivate before the Slovaks were ready which in his view simply wasn't the case in 1939. Now I don't mean to nitpick, but while I'm at it here are a couple more statements I take issue with: "In fact, although the Czechs weren't entirely blameless.." in what way? "Meanwhile, Tiso was still making speeches about going completely independent" Any source for that? Because I very much doubt there is one. "Hitler decided that he had to withdraw his protection from Czechoslovakia and acknowledge Slovakia as an independent state" Hitler had decided long ago that he wanted to annex the whole of Czechia (Skoda Arms Works and all that) its the reason he was so upset he didn't get his war in 1938. (Touched on this in your other video) A very minor point is that the 1939 occupation wasn't entirely bloodless. Around 300 soldiers refused to lay down their arms so there were a few sporadic firefights resulting in 1 Czech and 24 German soldiers losing their lives. PS. Am happy to provide sources for everything I've stated. You also mentioned an intention to do a video about the expulsions, which is a whole different can of worms, and far more politicized. So allow me to mention a few elements that I'm sure you will miss: The original 13th-century German settlers in the border region were all expelled in the Hussite wars 1420-1430, the actual major demographic shift occurred post-1620 when Czech autonomy was rescinded. (The law prior to that point was that every newborn child had to learn Czech) Not a centime in reparations was ever paid by Germany (stolen gold, war material, use of slave labor etc.) Nazi atrocities did not amount to just Lidice, but included things like 1200 (peaceful) student protesters being sent to concentration camps, or several massacres of civilians carried out by the SS (even after the German surrender) While most Czech people will agree the method of the expulsions was overly harsh, there is a consensus that it was a necessary evil. (The issue cost presidential candidate Karel Schwarzenberg the election in 2013) The expulsions had nothing to do with revenge, rather to: 1.Definitively void future German claims on the border (that would leave the interior defenseless) and 2. The realization that Germany was in no position to pay any reparations - and likely never would, hence confiscating properties was forcing the issue, with owed reparations to instead be used to compensate the expelees) Sorry for the overly long response but I tried to be as succinct as possible. There is so much more that could be added, but regardless hope you found it insightful.

​@@valorum999 Thanks valorum once again. My apologies for taking time to get back to you. I literally am a one man band, so, because I do a host of other things than videos, that’s why I don’t produce so many videos. Anyway, thank you for your great insights- I can see you have a passion for history so maybe you should set about creating your own channel; I mean that seriously, and I am not being facetious. Another delay in writing to you is that I wanted to do some further research myself. There are lots of things that jump out at me; I grant you that maybe I was too quick to apportion blame solely to Tiso, but there are so many things about him that need to be looked at further. From what I read, he believed in having an independent Slovak state eventually, but just maybe the circumstances, and the opportunity, were forced on to him sooner than he wanted. So, was he an opportunist? Sidor who was his main opponent for leading the party and the state, was side-lined by the Nazis because he could see it would not be true independence. When Sidor refused to negotiate with the Nazis, Tiso was then invited to talk with Hitler. If Tiso believed that Slovakia could be an autonomous state within a unified Czechoslovakia - why didn’t he unite with the Czechs to form a defence against the Poles and the Hungarians the invasion by whom, the Nazis had threatened the Slovaks. Furthermore, if Tiso truly believed in being an independent state why did he readily allow the occupation of Slovakia that led to the uprising in August 1944. After the uprising had been routed, Tiso gave awards to Nazis soldiers who had helped to defeat the uprising. I know both Czechs and Slovaks and I get different stories and reasons depending on where they come from. I said this before, each nation shapes history according to its own narrative. BUT, your comments, and my further reading have given me an idea for a further video about Tiso. Maybe something like ‘TISO: Traitor or Hero?’ But thank you, once again for your comments, they are very much appreciated and why I like people to comment. Oh, and by the way, I stand by what I said about the Slovaks handing the Nazis a bloodless coup. No matter which way you look at it - once they had declared independence - Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and so did the alliance treaty they had with France and the Soviet Union.

​@@TheMaskedGuide Thank you again for replying. With hindsight, maybe I went a bit overboard with my comments. However, I myself (and many academics agree) that there's been a concerted effort to distort and rewrite Czech and Slovak history. As for creating my own channel, perhaps I will at some point. As to why he didn't unite with the Czechs to form a defense, well you know that at that point Czechia was indefensible with 95% of the defensive fortifications in German hands. Even in 1938, projections indicated a German offensive could be kept at bay for a month to three at most. So lacking these defensive lines, fighting against both Germany and Hungary would have been suicidal. You keep ignoring the fact that Tiso was informed Germany planned to invade Czechia. You make a valid point though, that had they not declared independence, the defensive pact with France and the USSR would have still been valid. Yet if Munich was any indication, I think it's fair to conclude history would have unfolded in a similar manner, where they would have found a way to weasel out of their commitments, and instead give guarantees to Poland. The USSR also had an opt out card, where they could argue they never received permission from Romania to cross the border and send relief troops. If you've spent some time in these places, I think you will agree that there's a certain pragmatism. Also if you're at all interested in history you must know about the Phony war. You really believe it would have been worth it to risk annihilation just to make a point? I would advise against doing a video called "Tiso, Traitor, or Hero" unless you intentionally want to provoke people. Ask yourself if you'd consider doing the same with Philippe Pétain. Apart from some fringe groups, there are no Slovaks who see him as a hero, at most a deeply flawed human being who tried to make the best out of the situation. In general, it's a part of history Slovaks would rather put behind them. Going back to my opening point about rewriting history, there's an extension of the narrative that the first chance the Slovaks got (after the Velvet revolution) they broke off from a "forced union". Yet opinion polls before 1993 indicated that over 70% of both Czechs, and Slovaks were opposed to the split. The Czechoslovak constitution mandated that a referendum be held, guess why one never occurred. I've also looked into what seems to be your primary source, Mary Heinmann's book and now understand where you're coming from. Being curious, I read the preview up to the end of Chapter 1 and already can point to dozens of inaccuracies or outright fabrications. A simple example: "Inclusively Bohemian but now exclusively Czech national museum" is like saying, Inclusively German but now exclusively Duetche National Museum. Would it not be a fair to assume that to be able to call yourself a historian writing about Czechoslovakia you should at least be aware of the basic fact that "Bohemia" is the Latin exonym for Czechia? And that Germans referred to themselves (until the 1930's) as "Deutschböhmen" which translates to "Čeští Němci" (German Czechs). I really don't understand where her hatred for this country stems from, which is evident in how she formulates things.

@@valorum999 Thank you once again for your very interesting and detailed insight. Your comments were fair, since I had made a mistake by saying that Tiso accepted the deal from the Nazis with alacrity which wasn’t entirely true, So it needed to be pointed out and I thank you for doing that. I don’t want to intentionally provoke people - I think that would happen no matter the subject -( my video on How to Read the Astronomical clock - received a lot of attention from people who believe the world is flat) but as to whether Tiso was a Saviour or a Saint is an interesting question; but in retrospect, I think it would be pulling me away from talking about Czech subjects - even though, of course, it is an important part of the country’s history. I would agree that the split was a pragmatic approach - the Czechs are wonderfully pragmatic - as the teacher in Jara Cimrman’s Conquest of the North Pole sings ‘ Czechs will always adapt.’ In terms of the ‘Velvet Divorce’ I always refer to this in my tours in that it was clear that if they were to have held a referendum, they would have lost - it was a good strategy. And had David Cameron been aware of it, the UK might still be in the EU. Interestingly there is a small fringe group trying to reunite the countries - they sometimes have a little stall in the Old Town Square. You are not the first to complain about Mary Heinemann’s book, but she is not my primary source. I try to pull together information from a number of sources especially Czech and Slovak - although, as we have discussed, there needs to be more ‘due diligence’ And, as a scientist, I know it’s important to show that the facts are correct and I thank you for these interactions.

Hello, yes, thank you for your comment. Of course it was. I just didn't notice it during the editing. My son did the editing so - no pocket money for him this week :). And thank you for your encouraging comments.

@@TheMaskedGuide Lol.....it was an honest mistake

Catherine, thank you so much for sharing your personal story.

@@TheMaskedGuide my family still has empty plots in Queens, NY... I know for a fact that my Grandfather Raymond wouldn't trouble our family with shipping his husk back East from California. He's a cool dude 😎

@@TheMaskedGuide Just an inconvenient time to visit... I want to research my family in Bohemia ❤

sir madam baba is childsh version of Babička :-)

Sort of...but Hitler finished their work...

Why thank you! It is always good to know that my videos are appreciated.

Thanks for your message. As you probably know, Morrell's 'Vitamin' injections contained a lot more than just vitamins - invariably they were uppers or downers - and through it, it appears, Morrell encouraged and maintained Hitler's addition to drugs. Or so we are led to believe. Maybe have a look at this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qGIsjHS1pTY.html

Again, thank you for your comment- and thank you for providing the link. It was indeed a forgotten battle because it was something I didn't know. So, thank you for bringing it to my attention as well highlighting it for anyone who watches this video.

:) - I had to when I started ...

Thank you for your comment - As I have said previously -each country writes its own history - or writes the history of other countries - depending on the geopolitical situation. ( if you watch my next video on the Prague Uprising ( Part Two) - you will see what I mean.) . Těšín ,for instance, was a disputed territory between Czechoslovakia and Poland from their formation under the Treaty of Versailles from 1919 - but the dispute went further back than that. After the Munich agreement, the Poles annexed the area. After WW2, it went back to the Czechs and eventually the dispute was settled in 1958. The communist Polish government were also worried about the Czech liberalisation that was the Prague Spring. That is why the Polish troops formed part of the 200,000 Troops of the Warsaw Pact that invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. I always like to give a balanced view ,so I would be interested to read any reliable sources ( The language is irrelevant) that clarifies and substantiates your claims. Please paste them in the comments section.

The leaders of Britain, France, Italy and germany held a meeting in September 29-30, 1938 known as the Munich pact. The pact agreed to the annexation of Sudetenland/czech land. The Czechs weren't mentioned in the meeting at all. The aforementioned countries decided without czech members. So I'm not sure what this man means.

@@TheMaskedGuide The so-called Czech Cieszyn is for us Poles a part of Cieszyn under Czech occupation. The same goes for Opava, Bohumín and Ostrava. In 1919, when Poland was engaged in a war with the Bolsheviks in the east, the Czechs attacked Poland. They took advantage of the fact that there were practically no units of the Polish army in the vicinity of Cieszyn. The Czechs committed many crimes against the Polish population, the largest of which was the massacre in Stonawa. The Poles, being in a difficult situation due to the Bolshevik invasion, agreed to divide Cieszyn, but never forgot about its Polishness. In 1938, seeing that the Czechs had agreed to be part of Germany, they demanded that Zaolzie be returned. The Polish authorities dealt with the Czechs very culturally, no Czech was killed, although many of them should be severely punished for the crimes of 1919/1920. After becoming part of Germany, the Czechs diligently served the Germans. It was Czech planes and cannons that bombarded Polish cities in 1939, and Czech SS soldiers masked Polish villages.

Slavko, once again - thank you taking time to comment. But, once again, you make claims that I cannot verify because you provide no sources for your argument. If the Czech committed crimes against the Polish, then send me the information. I don't think the Czechs 'agreed' to be part of Nazi Germany - if you look at my video, you can see that essentially they were forced by the British and the French to hand over the Sudetenlands to the Nazis - in fact a large number of historians would agree on that point. As for the Czechs deliberately making weapons to use against the Poles is a very strange claim. One of the reasons the Nazis wanted to invade Czechoslovakia was so they could get access to its rich mineral assets as well as manufacturing; škoda was making tanks for the Nazis - but they were an occupied country. So, please send me links to your information. I would really like to read them.

@@TheMaskedGuide Are you so afraid of the truth about the czechs that you have to delete comments?