Czechoslovakia experienced a ‘wave of terror’ between 1948 and the mid-1950s, when it is estimated that as many as 100,000 Czechoslovak citizens were prosecuted for ‘political crimes’, many of whom were sentenced to lengthy periods in penal institutions and forced labour camps. However, the Communist Party also followed a policy of ‘punishment by kinship’ outside the prison walls, so that family members of political prisoners were treated as ‘guilty by association’. While these individuals were not generally arrested and imprisoned themselves, they were subjected to ‘collateral’ or ‘secondary’ repression through a sustained campaign of discrimination, marginalisation and ostracism, including internal exile via enforced relocation to and resettlement in remote border regions. The process of organised internal deportation and forced relocation was formalised by the passage of a new law, Akcion B, in April 1953. Evidence suggests this policy was motivated by a combination of political, social and economic factors, designed to marginalise ‘troublesome’ citizens while simultaneously re-invigorating the decimated post-war Czechoslovak border regions. This paper will draw on a range of sources, including personal testimonies from individuals targeted by Akcion B, to explore experiences of forced relocation and resettlement in late-Stalinist Czechoslovakia.
