Deadly violence of May 1945 still unpunished

Czech television will broadcast historical film footage this Thursday evening showing the brutal murder of German civilians by Czech insurgents in May 1945 in Prague. The documentary, titled Slaughter, Czech-Style has triggered fierce debates and the conservative daily Lidové noviny asks whether it is justified that these acts of violence have gone unpunished: "Some see it as catharsis, others as betrayal. ... It will only be betrayal for those who still talk of the Czechs as universal victims and the Germans as universals perpetrators. Will the film change our perception of the years 1939 to 1945 in any way? Many will say that the Czech brutality was provoked by the Germans. ... After 65 years it is no longer the brutality of May 1945 that is the problem but the fact that to this day we defend the Beneš decrees and the amnesty law [of 1946] which exempted this brutality from punishment."

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