Ash Wednesday ’45

On Ash Wednesday, 14 February 1945, Prague was bombed by American planes due to a tragic navigational error – bombers from the U.S. Eighth Air Force were meant to target the marshalling yard in Dresden but instead hit the Czech capital. For the inhabitants of Prague, this air raid marked their first true encounter with the devastation of aerial warfare. The consequences of the unplanned strike, which lasted about three minutes, were devastating as virtually all the bombs fell on residential and public buildings, and the number of casualties was further increased by the fact that many people failed to follow air-raid protection instructions. In the first part of the book, the author summarises the findings of recent research on the subject and draws attention to some of the entrenched narratives associated with the event. The second part presents personal stories and recollections linked to specific locations affected by the bombing. The main sources include letters, diaries, memoirs, interviews, regional publications, and materials from the Memory of Nations archive as well as the Office of the Prague 2 Municipal District. The book is complemented by a rich collection of photographs and, last but not least, a list of known victims.