Tragedy and innocent victims at the end of the war
The story depicts the dramatic days of May 1945 in Velké Meziříčí, when the local revolutionary committee sought to transfer power, but encountered a harsh response from armed German troops.
The result was a brutal massacre in which 58 people were executed, including the leader, Jindra Nováček. The film follows the characters through the crucial weekend of May 6-9 - from hope and organization to the tragic end and liberation.
The setting
Destination.
Specific localities:
- Town Hall: headquarters of the Revolutionary District National Committee
- Building of the School for Housewives: place of interrogations and beatings
- The banks of the Oslava and Balinka rivers: place of execution of more than 50 victims
- Town Square: site of the execution of Jindra Nováček by hanging from a lantern
- City Cemetery: site of the joint burial of the victims on 13 May
Characters
- Jindra Nováček: leader of the Revolutionary National Committee, hanged as a symbol of the Resistance
- Members of the National Committee: lawyers, teachers, local patriots - a demonstration of broad civic initiative
- Victims (58 civilians): arrested, shot at riverside - a reflection of the collective tragedy
- German soldiers/Gestapo: ruthless executors of bloody repression
- Civilians, witnesses, family members: their despair, fear, subsequent card scenes
- Fr. Bohumil Burian (parish priest): conducts funeral rites - a scene giving dignity to the memory of the victims
History and cultural context
In May 1945, Velké Meziříčí was a culturally and administratively important rural town (about 7,600 inhabitants) located on an important route between Brno and Jihlava, at the confluence of the Oslava and Balinka rivers. At the time of the end of the Second World War, the local resistance was organized at the town hall, which provoked a severe crackdown by the retreating German troops.
The massacre took place in two phases:
- 6-7 May: arrests, interrogations, executions of 58 civilians at the rivers and in the square.
- 8-9 May: after the arrival of the Red Army, the city was bombed (the Russians accidentally hit a civilian area), claiming dozens more victims of anti-fascism.
The subsequent funeral on 13 May with parish priest Burian became a memorial that united the town in common mourning.
This concept offers a dramatic and emotional framework - profiling specific places, key figures, and the larger historical and cultural context that reflects the weight of the struggles of the end of the war.
