SS-Truppenübungsplatz Böhmen

SS-Truppenübungsplatz Böhmen was a Waffen-SS training area established during the Second World War in the occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, east of present-day Sedlčany. Today the site stands as a place of remembrance for one of the region's most painful chapters — the mass expulsion of civilians and the forced labour of concentration camp prisoners.

When and how was the training area created?

The training ground was set up in 1941 and substantially expanded between 1942 and 1944. During this expansion, the castle and village of Janowitz (Jinošov) were incorporated into its boundaries, and their civilian population was removed. Across the whole training area, roughly 30,000 residents were displaced, losing homes, farms and generations of accumulated life within a short span of time. At its fullest extent the area covered some 44,000 hectares, making it one of the largest Waffen-SS training grounds in the occupied territories. Command was based in the town of Beneschau (Benešov), on the eastern edge of the training zone.

What was the training area used for, and who ran it?

The site housed an extensive Waffen-SS military infrastructure. Hradischko was home to an officer cadet and non-commissioned officer school, while Janowitz hosted a school for assault gun crews. A training regiment and several pioneer (combat engineer) battalions were also stationed there, preparing troops for both combat and engineering tasks. In short, the training ground functioned as a comprehensive military instruction complex, covering both command-level training and specialist units.

What role did the forced-labour camp play?

In 1943 a sub-camp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp was established at Hradischko. A year later, from July 1944, a further sub-camp was set up at Janowitz, holding around 200 prisoners. They were forced to work on turning the training ground into a defensive position — digging trenches, building fortifications and carrying out other earthworks. Living and working conditions were extremely harsh: many prisoners died from exhaustion, malnutrition and a typhus epidemic. This episode represents the darkest dimension of the site's history — a place built for military training also became a place of suffering and death for people enslaved by the camp system.

What mark did the training area leave around Sedlčany?

Today's location lies within the region administered from Sedlčany, on the fringes of the former training ground. The expulsions carried out between 1942 and 1944 affected dozens of settlements across the wider Benešov, Neveklov and Sedlčany districts — residents lost their homes almost overnight, and some never returned to their native villages, as parts of the settlements were destroyed or repurposed after the war. Visitors to the area today should keep in mind that the now-quiet landscape conceals a history of forced displacement of entire communities and the suffering of forced-labour prisoners.

Frequently asked questions

What was SS-Truppenübungsplatz Böhmen? It was a Waffen-SS training area established in 1941 in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, expanded to 44,000 hectares, with its command based in Beneschau (Benešov).

How many people were displaced to build the training area? Around 30,000 civilians lost their homes as a result of expulsions carried out during the expansion of the training ground between 1942 and 1944.

Was there a concentration camp on the training grounds? Two sub-camps of the Flossenbürg concentration camp operated directly on the site — at Hradischko (from 1943) and at Janowitz (from July 1944, holding around 200 forced-labour prisoners).

How is this location connected to Sedlčany? The site lies within the region administered from Sedlčany, in an area affected by the expulsions linked to the SS training ground between 1942 and 1944.