Mládež proti říši. Osudy členů Národního hnutí pracující mládeže na konci okupace
Youth Against the Reich. The Fates of Members of the National Movement of Working Youth at the End of the Occupation

Summary/Abstract: Born out of the political turmoil of the Second Republic, the National Movement of Working Youth (NHPM) quickly transformed from a broad left-wing youth organization into an important component of the anti-Nazi resistance after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. The movement engaged in the distribution of illegal publications, intelligence gathering, assistance to fugitives, and the organization of underground networks, attracting thousands of young members committed to democratic and social ideals. Although Gestapo operations largely dismantled the organization by mid-1940, the lives of its members continued to unfold through imprisonment, concentration camps, resistance work, collaboration, political engagement, and exile. The study follows several representative figures, including Miloslav and Anežka Koča, whose resistance activities ended in their deaths in Auschwitz, and Miloslav Moulis, who survived imprisonment and concentration camps before becoming a journalist and chronicler of wartime experiences. It also examines the remarkable trajectory of Jiří Hájek, from imprisoned resistance activist to postwar politician, reform communist, and later spokesman of Charter 77. In contrast, the case of František Šmíd illustrates the disturbing transformation of an underground activist into one of the most damaging Gestapo informants in Moravia. By tracing individual stories from the final years of the war through the postwar decades, the article highlights the diverse and often contradictory paths taken by members of the same resistance generation. Their experiences reveal how wartime persecution shaped political convictions, postwar careers, and collective memory, while also demonstrating that the legacy of resistance included both heroes and collaborators. Ultimately, the history of NHPM reflects the complexity of youth opposition to Nazism and the lasting impact of the occupation on Czech society and politics.

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