Prague suffered relatively little from the war. The fighting enthusiasm of people disappeared after the Munich Agreement was signed and life seemed to return back to normal. Some construction developments planned during the First republic were being finished even before the German troops entered Prague in March 1939.
Prague was enriched by the building of The National Technical (and agricultural) Museum in Letna. The biggest Prague department store Bila Labut (White Swan) was inaugurated on March 18, 1939 and became the favorite place for German soldiers to spend their Reichsmarks; the exchange rate between the Czechoslovak Koruna and Reichsmark was artificially set up very high.
German authorities also ordered that the traffic should change from the left to the right side of the road. Driving on the right side had been considered and was preparing for it in Czechoslovakia since the twenties. As Germany already was a right-driving country, this move was yet another expression of incorporating Czech lands into the Reich.
Right at the beginning of occupation, J.Pfitzner, representative of Prague Nazis, was appointed the deputy of mayor of Prague city. Pfitzer was de facto acting mayor of Prague as mayor Dr.Otakar Klapka was bound to consult all the decisions with him. Klapka was arrested by the Gestapo in 1940, charged with collaboration with enemies and executed a year later. Dr. A.Riha was appointed the new mayor while Pfitzner began to clear the Town Hall from Czech clerks and fill those positions with Germans dedicated to the Reich. Life in the city continued being curtailed and Germanized, all official requests being handled both in German and Czech language. The Estates Theater performed only in German. Rudolfinum, former residency of the Parliament of Czechoslovakia, had some of its boxes reserved for members of SS and Reichsprotector.
But the people of Prague did not give in, as the seeming quietness implied. Several resistance groups were formed, engaged for example in intelligence or organizing escapes of patriots. One of the ways to show that Praguers did not submit was labor strikes. Although they were forbidden by the protectoral government, Prague soon became a witness of several strikes. Perhaps the biggest one took place in aviation concerns Aero and Avia in August 1940. In 1941, it was followed by strikes in the dockyard of Praga, again in Avia, in the transport company CKD or Walter, the maker of aircraft engines. Germans considered Prague to be a good base for manufacturing war artillery. However, strikes and other forms of protests, such as sabotage, implied that Czechs will not cooperate and will need a firm hand.
At the end of September 1941 week and ineffective Raischsprotector Konstantine von Neurath was replaced by the unbelievably ruthless Reinhard Heydrich. He immediately declared a civic state of emergency and suppressed all attempts of resistance. The Czechoslovak – British Operation Anthropoid resulted in the assassination of Heydrich on May 27 1942, Heydrich succumbed to the injury few days later. The Nazi retaliation after his death was brutal. More than 10 000 people were arrested, imprisoned or killed. In next few weeks about 500 people were executed in Prague alone. They were mostly members of intellectual community; among them was writer Vladislav Vancura or literary theoretician Bedrich Vaclavek. The villages of Lidice and Lezaky were burned, their population slaughtered.
Germans tried to keep Prague, and Czech lands generally quiet as they needed Prague to manufacture war production. The course of the war began to change, Young people from Prague were, at the end of 1942, being sent to work both in the Reich and in Czech factories which were converted for German designs. The fact that the German Wehrmacht had taken losses was not yet in the official news but it could have been sensed from some of the moves of German authorities. Remarkably, until these days we have visible evidence of the fact that Germans had been preparing for both bombing and defense of Prague. There is still provisional fire station on Argentinska street which was, together with other stations, built to be used in case of fire caused by bombing. In the quarter of Holesovice, the home for a lot of German officers, the Wehrmacht assembly point was established. This area is still called Small Berlin and insiders can confirm that some of the sights really evoke the Berlin city.
At the end of 1944 it was clear that Germany was going to lose the war. Nonetheless, the Czech resistance, both communist and non-communist, was weakening as well. Germans succeeded in exterminating the illegal leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, which had been organizing some of the acts of resistance in Prague. There was not any help coming from the three brave men Balaban – Masin – Moravek either as they all died one by one. The rest of the resistance groups were waiting for the right moment. At the end of 1944 allies bombing formations appeared above Prague. The city was almost dead, not even Prague theaters were performing as most of the actors were sent to the Reich to work.
With the front coming closer Germans started to think about changing Prague into a fortification. Dynamiting of bridges and major buildings on the right river bank was planned. At the end of April 1945 constitutive meeting of the Czech National Council was held. Uprisings had started already on May 1 in Prerov, on May 5 a national uprising began in Prague. The newly formed Czech National Council with Albert Prazak appointed in its lead, assumed leadership of the revolt. Over 1,600 barricades were erected throughout the city and served as backing to not very well armed insurgents. General Karel Kutlvasr (executed during the Gottwald tyranny) was at the head of the protest.
Elite SS tank and artillery units stationed outside of Prague launched several tank attacks on the city defenders. The situation was grave. The anti-communist Russian Liberation army (also known as Vlasov’s army) joined Czech insurgents.Many downtown historical landmarks were bombed. Perhaps the biggest tragedy was bombing of the Old Town Hall, the astronomical clock caught on fire and part of the building was destroyed. Many executions took place, reminders in form of epitaphs and memorials are for example in Pankrac, Prazacka or Masaryk train station. On May 8 at 4pm the Czech National Council, thanks to the brave protest of the city defenders, negotiated German surrender terms with immediate capitulation of German forces. On May 9 around 3pm Soviet troops arrived and help to close the conflict. During the uprising in Prague almost 2,000 Czechs were killed.