Domažlice will build a new liberation memorial

Domažlice – The new memorial for the liberation of the city is being prepared by Domažlice. It will be designed by the sculptor Václav Fiala from Klatovy and will feature, among other things, an American military helmet and a traditional Chod hat. The creation of the memorial was initiated by the families of American soldiers who liberated the city in early May 1945. In the USA, the families organized a fundraiser, the proceeds of which, totaling 330,000 crowns, will be donated to the city. Domažlice will match this amount with a contribution of the same size, which will suffice for a dignified tribute to the American soldiers and all those involved in the liberation of Domažlice, said Mayor Zdeněk Novák (Association for the City of Domažlice) today to ČTK.

For the past 30 years, Domažlice has regularly celebrated the liberation by the American army, with participation from American World War II veterans, their families, and representatives from the sister city of Two Rivers, where the first people from the Domažlice area settled in the mid-19th century. In the city on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and the surrounding area, descendants of the Chods still live. "At the end of last year, something extraordinary happened - the families of American veterans, honorary citizens of the city Matt Konop, Robert Gilbert, James Duncan, and Herman Geist, approached us with a wish to build a memorial to the liberation of the city in Domažlice dedicated to the memory of these men," said Novák.

The city approached artist Fiala, who prepared the design including a model, and American donors agreed with it. The memorial will consist of stone benches and a stone table on which a military helmet and a Chod hat will be depicted. Another part will be the memorial itself - a granite monolith featuring the motifs of the American and Czech flags. The memorial will be located on a plot in Chodská Street beneath the garden of the Chodský Castle, that is, at the site where the first American soldiers arrived in the city in May 1945.

"The grandson of Matt Konop, Patrick Dewaine, in response to the proposed memorial design wrote that the combination of the military helmet and the Chod hat is amazing, as while his grandfather wore this helmet, his great-grandfather wore the Chod hat," said Novák.

According to him, the Americans expected that the current unfavorable epidemic situation would calm down and they would be able to come for the unveiling of the memorial on May 5, the day Domažlice was liberated in 1945. However, this will not be possible due to the pandemic. The city will install the memorial in the spring.

"I consider the combination of the memorial with a place where people can sit, rest, and reflect on events from the past, which I believe still resonate with people living today, a great idea," added the mayor.