pomník setkání armád 13. 5. 1945

The Monument to the Meeting of Armies of 13 May 1945 stands at a crossroads next to the village of Vitějovice in the Prachatice district, marking the spot where Allied forces advancing from opposite directions came together in the closing days of the Second World War.

What does this monument commemorate?

The site marks a specific moment in the final week of the war in southern Bohemia. On 5 May 1945, soldiers of the American 5th Infantry Division, under the command of General A.E. Brown, halted retreating German and Hungarian columns near Vitějovice. Czechoslovak volunteers then took charge of guarding the captured prisoners, holding the camp until 13 May 1945. On that day, units of the Red Army — the 100th Guards Rifle Division under General A.I. Makarenko, arriving from the opposite direction — took over control of the prisoner camp from the Czechoslovak guards. This handover, the point at which soldiers of two Allied armies met on the same patch of Czech ground, is the event that gives the monument its date.

Where exactly does the monument stand?

It stands at the crossroads of the roads connecting Prachatice with Netolice and Vitějovice with Svojnice, surrounded by open fields near the village. A building known locally as "Stopážka" stands close by and now serves as the easiest landmark for finding the site.

What is the history of the monument itself?

The people of Vitějovice erected the first monument to the meeting just a year after the war, on 5 May 1946. A stone bearing a black plaque was inscribed with the words "Pravda vítězí" — "Truth prevails." During the communist period, the original monument was removed from its spot: a memory built around a meeting of American and Soviet troops did not fit the official narrative of the time, which credited the liberation almost exclusively to the Red Army. It was only after 1989, following the political change brought by the Velvet Revolution, that villagers rebuilt the monument, placing it a few metres from its original location.

Are there any commemorations held here?

Yes. The site is used each year for gatherings that mark the end of the war — every May, members of the local community come together here to lay flowers and recall the story of the meeting of Allied troops decades earlier. For the residents of Vitějovice, the monument remains a symbol of the end of the occupation and the liberation of this part of the Prachatice region.

Why is it worth a stop?

This modest roadside spot ties together a fragment of local and European history — the moment when two armies advancing from opposite ends of the continent met on a single road among the Czech fields. For visitors interested in the final days of the Second World War and the events of 1945 in southern Bohemia, it is a concrete, physical point on the map, easily reached without a major detour if travelling between Prachatice and Netolice.

Frequently asked questions

Which armies met near Vitějovice? The American 5th Infantry Division, commanded by General A.E. Brown, and the Soviet 100th Guards Rifle Division, commanded by General A.I. Makarenko.

Why does the monument's name include the date 13 May 1945? That is the day the Red Army took over guard duty of the German and Hungarian prisoner camp from Czechoslovak volunteers, after the prisoners had first been stopped by American forces on 5 May 1945.

Is the monument standing today the original from 1946? No. The original 1946 monument was removed during the communist era. The current monument is a post-1989 reconstruction, placed a few metres from the original site.

What is inscribed on the monument? The plaque on the first monument carried the words "Pravda vítězí" — "Truth prevails."

Where exactly should visitors look for the monument? At the crossroads of the roads linking Prachatice with Netolice and Vitějovice with Svojnice, next to the building known as "Stopážka", in the fields just outside the village of Vitějovice.