Air Raids on Pardubice

A guided walk with documentary filmmaker Šárka Kuchtová.

In 1944, Pardubice experienced three air raids that claimed nearly 300 lives, injured hundreds, and caused extensive material damage. Buildings were repaired or rebuilt, but for survivors the bombing remained one of the worst traumas of the war.

The walk begins in front of the old railway station, which took a direct hit during the August raid - people sheltering in its bunker survived except for one person. Those who hid in a public shelter a few streets away fared differently: they suffocated under the rubble. Participants will visit a replica of an anti-aircraft shelter and learn in the darkness how much time people had from the air-raid siren to reach safety. The walk ends at a memorial to carpenter Svoboda, who lost nearly his entire family in minutes during the August raid. The commentary is accompanied by photographs and testimonies of survivors recorded by the Memory of the Nation project.

📍 Meeting point: Jungmannova 1020, 530 02 Pardubice I-Zelené Předměstí (opposite the old railway station)
Route length: approximately 2 hours, 650 m. Capacity is limited - advance online booking is recommended. Tickets can also be purchased in cash at the Institute for the Memory of the Nation Pardubice ticket office (opening hours on their website).