Czech-German-Jewish coexistence in Třešť 1939–1945. Nazi dictatorship in the memorial space of a small town

In 1939–1946, the town of Třešť, like the whole territory of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was affected by the National Socialist dictatorship. In addition to the extraordinary cultural monuments from the Renaissance to the 19th century, the attractive tourist centre of the town can also provide a reminder of the dark moments of modern European history. The Czech-German-Jewish environment was fundamentally affected by the Second World War. The town of Třešť lost a tenth of its population during this period, who either became victims of the Holocaust or were murdered as members of the resistance or insurgents. Several dozen inhabitants had to leave the town after the war ended because they were of German nationality. In 1945–1948, extraordinary people's trials were held, the course of which is indelibly etched in the history of Czechoslovak justice. The Třešť Castle, now the Congress Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, became both the site of the decisive clash of Czech-German coexistence on 7 and 8 May 1945 in Třešť, and the adjacent park became the scene of the public executions of Nazi perpetrators and convicted accomplices in 1946. In the early 1970s, there was still an extensive investigation into the Třešť events, which to this day remain an unhealed wound on the soul of this small town.