CZECHOSLOVAK RESISTANCE POTENTIAL AND REGIME COUNTERMEASURES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00418R006000090002-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 17, 2008
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: August 10, 1956
• Content Type: REPORT

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THIS IS UNEVALUATED., AUTANCE INFORMATION
10 August 1956
l EQH0SLOVAK B ISTANCE POTENTIAL AND MILE COUNTERNEASUFM
Summarya: This report described some scattered,.dated incidents of small-scale orga-
nized resistance in,Czeehoslovakiae Some details on spontaneous anti-regime
demonstrations at the time of the 1953 ourrenoy reform and a rather high
rate of desertions among Border guard personnel
THIS IS UNEVALUATED ADVANCE INFORMATION
Con Rde.rt(aI
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CZECHOSLOVAK E ISTANGE POTENTIAL AND REGIME GOUT SURFS
A SCAT FEED IN0 DENTS OF A. RESISTANCE NATURE
1.. Armed or Clandestine
no groups or persons were currently carrying. on active 25X1
resistance. on an organized. or effective scale,.. after the Gonmunis.t 25X1
coup in 19489 the State Security Forces (StB- a Statni to-jna bszpecnost.) end other
security forces had been. successful in breaking. up and dispersing any active reeds-
tanc+e groups and that surviving members who had not been arrested or- otherwise dis-
posed of. were probably forced to operate in small. groups of '10, or less.. Particularly
in the last four years extremely little active resistance except in 25X1
isolated instances..
a,. Alleged Discovery of Espionage ,Group, in , KAPLIGT
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in the summer of 1955 9 a group of about 25X1
12, unidentified people' was arrested in IKAFl.IGE (VP-6399)' (N48-4? E11-29 by the
StB for espionage work for the.Vest., This group, headed by a ,doctor (nu),, allegedly
possessed awireless telegraph apparatus by'which they received their instructions
and in return transmitted back troop and factory 25X1
Information. Two members o this group were allegedly hanged and the rest received
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b'.. Antimanunist Guerilla; Group in 1951
(1) Action Against Group.
joint action of
Border Guard and StB.personnel'against what was called .a terrorist band, about 15
in number, in the vicinity of BABICE (IR4 26.Q.) (N49..079 .E1546j,: . Involved in
this action were about 200 Border Guard and 100.'StB men using five Tatra trucks
and ]IS unidentified automobile,.. utilizing a Piper-Cu.botype plane
for observation, had succeeded in cornering the band in acorn field. The plane,
spotted one of the members of the band who was wearing a white shirt.. The man
became frightened and opened fire on the plane with'a SG, at which point a running
gun battle ensued.. The leader of the band, (fnu) ,, and one other member were
killed; two others were wounded. The. Border.Guard and StB forces allegedly did not
sustain any casualties. The entire action took only about five hours since the
Border Guard andi.,"StB had been informed from unidentified sources as to the where-
abouts of the band..
(a) Trial of Group.
men in .-'IHTaAVA. (' b4272) (ft9-21;.9,. E15 35).. an 18, year old member (nu) 25X1
or xhis nand was held responsible for assasinating two minor Communist Party
functionaries (nu), in the city of BABICE. Seven of the men were sentenced to be
hanged, including the 18=year.-old youth,, and the remainder received unknown-prison
sentences.
A, store of arms belonging to, this group was found in the cellar of
ahome in BABICE and was exhibited- at the trial. Among this cache of arms 25X1
were approximately 10:1 es, four rifles., five pistols and eight grenades plus an
unknown amount of ammunition. One member (nu) of this band worked in an unidenti-
fied arms factory in BENO, from 'which he stole some of the arms found in their
possession.4 The arms were. of both German an-EX II and C ch types..
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A'lso.a list was allegedly found in their possession which contained
names of Communists in the area who were -marked for asaasination.. In addition to
this, the band was also held responsible for setting fire to the homes of'* three
Oommunist Party functionaries in B&BIGE.
it was brought out in the investigation and trial
operational funds rrom an unknown organization
band were not apprehended.
a large number of men who 'also belonged to this same
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numbering about 150 men and the other beaded by (.fnu) BURT.AX and numbering about
200 men.. They were aided by anti-Communist elements of the population who brought
them arms and food in the same year. That they did not receive, they took by force.
goat of the rebels had been killed or apprehended in the action with heavy casualties
b
th _i d1e
a
o
n
s
a film titled Action-B.(Akcia-B). which showed the
National oecurizy Porce in a o against the rebel group.
Protegq, airaat.Psvalua,tion of the Czech Crown in 195 E
_ .:-..
The most widespread example of passive resistance took place
in 1953 at the time of the devaluation of the Czech Crown to 2O: percent of its former
value.: This act of the Czechoslovak Government aroused nationwide discontent among
the people resulting in wholesale abseentf.am'of workers from factories for
two a;
and gathering of groups on street corners in the. cities..
dispersal actions in the following citiesa PIISN0
OS1BAVA,;yIDnPBRK (1 : Io3 t) 949~40, E13?47}, TRWC:. (0A: 3108) (N1t9 ,: M18-ig1 and
HORNI Pt.ANk. (fly 1711, (N48-460 El~- mo'2 ..
In HORNI PEANA:a former Border Guard officer named (.fnu)
KOUPII., who was afactory worker there at that time, was arrested for anti-regime
incitation of the workers; of the factory where he was employed.. He also shouted
"Gestapo* several times at the incoming Border Guard troop;.
Personnel
actually guarding the border were not called in to take part in these dispersal
actions, thus conserving strength at the border..
3. Distribution of Balloon ?opm emphlets
The. only pamphlet were the ones dropped by balloons coming
from the West.: A. great, ma o these balloons were shot ow + n by Border
personnel
there were a great many small groups in ' 0ze,choslovakia, of not
more 'tan five people "each,. who distributed these pamphlets at night among the po-
pulace.. In the spring of 1,955, a .man (,nu) was arrested by Border Guard intelligence
C, on ~'11 den11 'Cd
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Personnel on the train and was taken away by the authorities at the railroad station
in,KA'-TOV (N18-49, 4_15). He received a three-year jail sentence for this activi-
ty.3~
4. High Rate of Border Guard Desertions
The Border Guard, had the greatest number of military deser-
tions of the Czechoslovak armed forces. This was mainly' because of the proximity
of its personnel to the border and consequent means of escape., Since 1951,. approxi
mately 25 soldiers had deserted Border Guard brigade Many
Border Guard soldiers a
friendly and referred to them as the 'Green 85r.. if
a border guard walked. into a cafe, the civilian peopie in e care woula mne ately
become cautious and would limit their conversation..
B.. ' FMGIM,E PROPAGANDA AND OTHER COU
1.. Mail Censorship
It was commonly believed in Czechoslovakia that all incoming mail from
foreign countries and all mail of individual persons under suspicion for anti-regime
activities was censored.
religious attendance in Czechoslovakia had declined
very much since the Gomminists, took over the government in 1948.
'The younger generation had undergone constant indoctrination in anti-
religious principles in schols, in their youth groups and in almost every phase of
their life..
'The only chance for advancement in-.Czechoslovak society was through
the Communist paety. even if a student were outstanding
in. the scientific field,, he would not be allowed to continue his studies if he
were anti-Communist or religious.
The Communist newspapers constantly derided religious activity in
Czechoslovakia.:
The traditional Roman Catholic church in Czechoslovakia no :lLonger
existed. The clergymen no longer received their instructions from ROME but from
a 'aoaanunist grouW the State Office for Church Affairs (Statni urad pro veci
cirkevni m ETC);.. The latter had made the church in Czechoslovakia a toot of
the government.. .., .
3:: Anti-Minority Prejudices
the.Jewish population in Czechoslovakia was very small.
on the whole the Czechoslovak people were strongly anti-
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Semitic.. It. was commonly believed by them that the Jews were favored by the govern-
ment and were promoted more readily, especially in overn_ment retail 'outlets. The
only government anti-Semitic activity was the purge of high officials
Cof Jewish extraction) in 1953,. includinga TAUSIGOVA, SflON,, SLAPTSRY.