Chapter 26 - Uprising
Chapter Twenty Six - Uprising
‘Calling all Czechs, calling all Czechs!’ Suddenly the portable radio at Katka’s feet tore through the silence. ‘The time is just before six and we have taken control. We are now calling for all Czech citizens to come to our aid.’
‘What’s happening?’ Katka asked.
‘They must have attacked the radio station.’ replied Jan. ‘They’re broadcasting on all frequencies.’
‘Who has?’ Katka asked, to which Jan didn’t answer. Only he gestured for Katka to be quiet, to listen. He was staring intently at the radio set, straining to hear the speaker’s next words.
For a long moment there was nothing, just a faint static, a sound of silence over the airwaves. It was an agonising wait before the announcer’s voice came again, and when it did it was a voice filled with urgency. He repeated the message he had issued before, ‘Calling all Czech citizens, we have taken control of the radio building and we need assistance. I repeat, we have taken control and we need -’
A sudden explosion of gunfire interrupted the broadcast. The sound of shouting from the radio speaker, then more gunfire.
‘Oh my God!’ Katka exclaimed, unable to stop herself from covering her face with her hands. Had the announcer just been killed, had he been gunned down live on air? For a tense moment the only sound on the radio was the thud of footsteps, a series of heavy clunks as if the the radio studio was being destroyed, then after another torturous wait again came the speaker’s voice, ‘I repeat,’ he said, out of breath and speaking quickly, his frantic words interrupted by gasps for breath, ‘We need all Czechs citizens to come to our assistance immediately. We have taken control of Czech radio and we are under attack.’
‘They need our help!’ Katka said.
‘We’ll signal the other’s,’ Jan replied, ‘tell them to move towards Prague.’ but as he reached for the radio set, Katka stopped him.
‘No.’ Katka said, ‘There’s no time. We need to go now.’
‘Without telling the rest of the men to advance on Prague?’ Jan exclaimed, ‘That would be madness. But you’re right, we need to get to the radio station and help’. At once he started the ignition of the car and as he pulled into the road, accelerating recklessly towards the centre of the city, he added, ‘You do it. Take the handset from the radio and give the command to attack.’
This is it, thought Katka and she reached for the radio handset, this is when the battle for Prague begins. She lifted the handset to her mouth, then paused, ‘What do I say?’ she asked.
‘Attack!’ replied Jan, ‘Just tell them to attack, now!’
Katka issued the order at once. She practically shouted the words into the radio handset as Jan hurtled the car through Prague’s streets in the direction of the radio station. He drove fast and within a few minutes they were close enough to hear the fighting. It was distant at first, a rattle of machine guns, the pop-pop-pop of rifle fire. And as they neared the radio building the noise of fighting turned to a roar. It was deafening.
People were in the streets, running towards the radio building with whatever makeshift weapons they could find - shotguns, knives, broom handles, anything they could use to strike back at the German soldiers who had ruled the city for so many hard years.
‘It has begun, it has begun.’ Jan shouted to Katka, the excitement sounding clearly in his voice.
‘What about the message?’ Katka asked
‘The message?’ Jan exclaimed, ‘Are you mad? The fighting has already started. The message means nothing now.’ And with these words he screeched the car to a stop about a block form the radio station. It was impossible to drive any closer. The road had been blocked with a series of vehicles, positioned sideways to form a makeshift barrier.
Katka and Jan got out of the car and ran for the shelter of a side street. The air was thick with smoke, the smell of burning, gunpowder, it choked, it caused Katka to instinctively cover her mouth with her sleeve.
‘Look.’ said Jan, scrabbling for cover next to Katka. He gestured towards the radio station, ‘it’s the police who are leading the attack.’
Katka looked at where Jan was pointing. The distinctive black uniform of the Prague police, tiny like stick-men, clear against the white backdrop of smoke.
‘What now?’ Katka asked, peering over the wall, the handgun Jan had given her poised in her right hand.
‘We can’t get any closer.’ Jan replied. ‘It’s not safe. The building is on fire. We should just wait for the others, for reinforcements. Then we can attack together.’
‘Wait? We can’t wait!’ Katka replied at once, ‘We need to help now. Look over there, if we can get to that corner we’ll be within range.’
Jan shouted after Katka as she ran across the road. It was no use though, nothing could be heard above the sound of fighting. Only when he had caught up with Katka and dived for cover next to her did Katka hear what he was saying. ‘Are you stupid?’ he shouted, We are too close. If a grenade is thrown we’ll be killed in an instance.’
‘But we must help!’ Katka yelled in reply and she tried to take aim towards the building with her pistol, but Jan stopped her.
‘You’ll hit nothing with that.’ he said.
Katka shook her hand free from Jan’s grasp. But he was right of course, the building was swamped in smoke and in the confusion it was impossible to tell who was German and who was Czech. Figures were sheltering in doorways, leaning from windows. Shots were being fired at random. It was chaos, and with the shouts and rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire, the acrid smell of burning, it was like a scene from Hell.
For an agonising minute Katka and Jan could do nothing but shelter behind the wall. It was barely metres from the radio station entrance, but any attempt to reach the door would be suicide. However, an unexpected lull in the fighting gave them the chance they needed.
Without warning everything suddenly went quiet. It was as if both sides had become confused, tired suddenly and unable to tell friend from foe. The gunfire ceased. For a long moment nothing happened. Enough time for the smoke clear and it was a horrific sight that revealed itself then. On the ground were lifeless bodies, littered like garbage, splayed limbs and the bright red of spilt blood on the ash stained pavement.
Then. as if sensing the moment was right, an ambulance entered the street. It pulled to a stop in front of the building and men in white coats came out onto the pavement. They were armed with stretchers and bandages and at once they began attended to the wounded, covered the dead with blankets.
‘We should help them.’ Katka said and she didn’t wait for Jan to try and stop her. She ran forward, reckless and not caring if a stray bullet hit her. But it seemed the fighting was inside the building now. When the gunfire resumed it was now muffled by the thick walls of the radio building, which had begun belching smoke from its upper windows.
‘The fighting is on the top floor now.’ Jan said, catching up with Katka, ‘Don’t go inside.’
It was an unnecessary warning, however. Katka had no intention of entering the building. It was the wounded she was concerned about and she at once set about helping the injured men on the ground. She mimicked the medics as the moved from body to body, offering water from a canister she had found on the ground, wiping blood form agonised faces and issuing comforting words where needed. She didn’t notice until Jan told her that the fighting had ended.
‘It’s over.’ he said.
Katka lifted her head and listened. There was no sound from inside the building, no shots or explosions. The only sound came from outside. Closest to her she could hear the moans of the dying and further off the sound of approaching sirens.
‘It’s begun.’ Jan said, almost jubilant like a child at Christmas, ‘It really has begun.’
And it was true what he said, thought Katka because as the remaining German soldiers were led from the building, single file and with their hands on their heads, more gunshots could be heard in the distance. There must be violence breaking out all over the city now, she thought. On every street and in every government building as Czech people all over Prague began to rise up and take back control. She looked at Jan and smiled.
‘Come on, let’s go inside.’ Jan said, ‘We need to find out what we can do to help.’
Katka followed. Inside the radio building it was carnage. The walls were blackened with fire in parts, riddled with bullet holes and there were dead bodies on the floor. Like rags tossed into corners, tossed down stairs. German, Czech, there was blood in pools on the floor and splattered on walls.
Katka had to shield her eyes. It made no difference the killings she had seen in the last few months, she’d had enough. She wanted to see no more. She followed Jan all the way to the top of the building, which was damaged more than on the first floors. It seemed the fighting had been worst here. On the top floor the building was just a shell, with doors, window frames and even the banister rails on the stairs blasted to pieces. Everything was blackened with soot and the floor was soaked with water. Katka hadn’t noticed the fire engine outside, that in the last part of the battle had fired water through the upper windows, presumably to take control of the fire that otherwise would have destroyed the radio station.
‘This must be the studio.’ Jan said as he led the way into a room that had a desk in the middle of it. A radio had been positioned on top of the desk. It was remarkably undamaged and behind the desk was a small man in police uniform. He didn’t look up when Katka and Jan entered, instead he sat with his head leant forward and the handset for the radio resting in his hand.
Jan coughed gently to signal their presence. But it took a moment for the man to register that someone had entered the room. For a long time he seemed lost in his thoughts with the battle for the radio station still ringing in his ears, but eventually he looked up and he looked from Jan to Katka and then smiled.
‘I’ve heard about you.’ he said.
‘About me?’ Katka replied.
‘You’re the girl who’s been on the run, aren’t you? Sabotaging bullets, blowing up record offices, fighting the Nazis in Germany. That’s you, isn’t it?’
‘No, I -’ Katka began, not quite able to piece it all together, her whole journey. Suddenly it was too much, she felt lost, unexpectedly confused and so she asked, ‘How? How do you know?’
But in reply the man just smiled. Then he lifted the radio handpiece to his mouth and said, in a voice that was calm and measured and one that Katka immediately recognised as the voice she had heard over the radio earlier, ‘This is a message for all Czech citizens. The radio station is secured. The battle on Vinohradska is won. We must now advance on the barracks and force the occupying soldiers into submission.’
He closed his eyes as he spoke and when he had delivered his message he rested his hand on his head for a moment. As if collecting his thoughts, he waited for a long moment before looking up again and when he did he said, ‘We must fight now. You especially, you need to take a leading role.’
‘Me?’ Katka exclaimed. She stepped backward, bumping into Jan, who was standing in the doorway behind her. ‘Why me?’
‘Because of what you have done, because -’
‘I did nothing.’ Katka protested.
‘You have played a key role.’ the man corrected her, ‘You have insired a nation into action and now it is time to complete what you have started.’
Katka tried to interrupt again but the man ignored her. He carried on speaking, ‘We must take whatever arms we can find. All citizens must be encouraged to join in the fight. This is why we need you to take a lead.’
‘But why would they follow me?’ Katka asked.
‘Because they know who you are, because word of your actions has spread through Prague in the last few days.’
‘But how -’ Katka began.
‘Because people speak, because news travels fast when people are in need of hope.’ he paused, allowing perhaps Katka to speak if she wished to. But Katka remained quiet so the man went on, ‘People will follow your lead and come out into the street as we drive the German soldiers back from the centre of the city. We must secure our control. We must barricade the streets.’
Katka nodded.
And as if deciding then that the conversation was over, the man lifted the radio receiver and began speaking again.
‘Come on.’ Jan said, a hand on Katka’s arm, ‘We should go.’
Katka turned and followed Jan out of the room. Together they walked down the stairs and then, out in the street, she felt suddenly exhilarated, alive - more alive than she had felt in her life.
We can do it, she told herself, tell the people to build barricades in the street. We can bring people from their houses to fight the last of the Nazis who still plagued this city. She turned towards the sound of fighting, which was taking place further along the street from the radio station now, closer to the centre. And just as she was about to head towards it, she heard Jan call to her from behind.
‘Wait.’ he said.
‘What?’ Katka replied.
Jan caught up with her and began speaking. He was explaining something, pointing in the direction of the gunfire. Katka wasn’t listening though, she didn’t hear a word he was saying because instead she was looking at his eyes, at the crease either side of his mouth as he frowned at her, and without thinking what she wanted to say she said, ‘You’re my father, aren’t you?’
Jan swallowed. He stopped speaking.
‘Calling all Czechs, calling all Czechs!’ Suddenly the portable radio at Katka’s feet tore through the silence. ‘The time is just before six and we have taken control. We are now calling for all Czech citizens to come to our aid.’
‘What’s happening?’ Katka asked.
‘They must have attacked the radio station.’ replied Jan. ‘They’re broadcasting on all frequencies.’
‘Who has?’ Katka asked, to which Jan didn’t answer. Only he gestured for Katka to be quiet, to listen. He was staring intently at the radio set, straining to hear the speaker’s next words.
For a long moment there was nothing, just a faint static, a sound of silence over the airwaves. It was an agonising wait before the announcer’s voice came again, and when it did it was a voice filled with urgency. He repeated the message he had issued before, ‘Calling all Czech citizens, we have taken control of the radio building and we need assistance. I repeat, we have taken control and we need -’
A sudden explosion of gunfire interrupted the broadcast. The sound of shouting from the radio speaker, then more gunfire.
‘Oh my God!’ Katka exclaimed, unable to stop herself from covering her face with her hands. Had the announcer just been killed, had he been gunned down live on air? For a tense moment the only sound on the radio was the thud of footsteps, a series of heavy clunks as if the the radio studio was being destroyed, then after another torturous wait again came the speaker’s voice, ‘I repeat,’ he said, out of breath and speaking quickly, his frantic words interrupted by gasps for breath, ‘We need all Czechs citizens to come to our assistance immediately. We have taken control of Czech radio and we are under attack.’
‘They need our help!’ Katka said.
‘We’ll signal the other’s,’ Jan replied, ‘tell them to move towards Prague.’ but as he reached for the radio set, Katka stopped him.
‘No.’ Katka said, ‘There’s no time. We need to go now.’
‘Without telling the rest of the men to advance on Prague?’ Jan exclaimed, ‘That would be madness. But you’re right, we need to get to the radio station and help’. At once he started the ignition of the car and as he pulled into the road, accelerating recklessly towards the centre of the city, he added, ‘You do it. Take the handset from the radio and give the command to attack.’
This is it, thought Katka and she reached for the radio handset, this is when the battle for Prague begins. She lifted the handset to her mouth, then paused, ‘What do I say?’ she asked.
‘Attack!’ replied Jan, ‘Just tell them to attack, now!’
Katka issued the order at once. She practically shouted the words into the radio handset as Jan hurtled the car through Prague’s streets in the direction of the radio station. He drove fast and within a few minutes they were close enough to hear the fighting. It was distant at first, a rattle of machine guns, the pop-pop-pop of rifle fire. And as they neared the radio building the noise of fighting turned to a roar. It was deafening.
People were in the streets, running towards the radio building with whatever makeshift weapons they could find - shotguns, knives, broom handles, anything they could use to strike back at the German soldiers who had ruled the city for so many hard years.
‘It has begun, it has begun.’ Jan shouted to Katka, the excitement sounding clearly in his voice.
‘What about the message?’ Katka asked
‘The message?’ Jan exclaimed, ‘Are you mad? The fighting has already started. The message means nothing now.’ And with these words he screeched the car to a stop about a block form the radio station. It was impossible to drive any closer. The road had been blocked with a series of vehicles, positioned sideways to form a makeshift barrier.
Katka and Jan got out of the car and ran for the shelter of a side street. The air was thick with smoke, the smell of burning, gunpowder, it choked, it caused Katka to instinctively cover her mouth with her sleeve.
‘Look.’ said Jan, scrabbling for cover next to Katka. He gestured towards the radio station, ‘it’s the police who are leading the attack.’
Katka looked at where Jan was pointing. The distinctive black uniform of the Prague police, tiny like stick-men, clear against the white backdrop of smoke.
‘What now?’ Katka asked, peering over the wall, the handgun Jan had given her poised in her right hand.
‘We can’t get any closer.’ Jan replied. ‘It’s not safe. The building is on fire. We should just wait for the others, for reinforcements. Then we can attack together.’
‘Wait? We can’t wait!’ Katka replied at once, ‘We need to help now. Look over there, if we can get to that corner we’ll be within range.’
Jan shouted after Katka as she ran across the road. It was no use though, nothing could be heard above the sound of fighting. Only when he had caught up with Katka and dived for cover next to her did Katka hear what he was saying. ‘Are you stupid?’ he shouted, We are too close. If a grenade is thrown we’ll be killed in an instance.’
‘But we must help!’ Katka yelled in reply and she tried to take aim towards the building with her pistol, but Jan stopped her.
‘You’ll hit nothing with that.’ he said.
Katka shook her hand free from Jan’s grasp. But he was right of course, the building was swamped in smoke and in the confusion it was impossible to tell who was German and who was Czech. Figures were sheltering in doorways, leaning from windows. Shots were being fired at random. It was chaos, and with the shouts and rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire, the acrid smell of burning, it was like a scene from Hell.
For an agonising minute Katka and Jan could do nothing but shelter behind the wall. It was barely metres from the radio station entrance, but any attempt to reach the door would be suicide. However, an unexpected lull in the fighting gave them the chance they needed.
Without warning everything suddenly went quiet. It was as if both sides had become confused, tired suddenly and unable to tell friend from foe. The gunfire ceased. For a long moment nothing happened. Enough time for the smoke clear and it was a horrific sight that revealed itself then. On the ground were lifeless bodies, littered like garbage, splayed limbs and the bright red of spilt blood on the ash stained pavement.
Then. as if sensing the moment was right, an ambulance entered the street. It pulled to a stop in front of the building and men in white coats came out onto the pavement. They were armed with stretchers and bandages and at once they began attended to the wounded, covered the dead with blankets.
‘We should help them.’ Katka said and she didn’t wait for Jan to try and stop her. She ran forward, reckless and not caring if a stray bullet hit her. But it seemed the fighting was inside the building now. When the gunfire resumed it was now muffled by the thick walls of the radio building, which had begun belching smoke from its upper windows.
‘The fighting is on the top floor now.’ Jan said, catching up with Katka, ‘Don’t go inside.’
It was an unnecessary warning, however. Katka had no intention of entering the building. It was the wounded she was concerned about and she at once set about helping the injured men on the ground. She mimicked the medics as the moved from body to body, offering water from a canister she had found on the ground, wiping blood form agonised faces and issuing comforting words where needed. She didn’t notice until Jan told her that the fighting had ended.
‘It’s over.’ he said.
Katka lifted her head and listened. There was no sound from inside the building, no shots or explosions. The only sound came from outside. Closest to her she could hear the moans of the dying and further off the sound of approaching sirens.
‘It’s begun.’ Jan said, almost jubilant like a child at Christmas, ‘It really has begun.’
And it was true what he said, thought Katka because as the remaining German soldiers were led from the building, single file and with their hands on their heads, more gunshots could be heard in the distance. There must be violence breaking out all over the city now, she thought. On every street and in every government building as Czech people all over Prague began to rise up and take back control. She looked at Jan and smiled.
‘Come on, let’s go inside.’ Jan said, ‘We need to find out what we can do to help.’
Katka followed. Inside the radio building it was carnage. The walls were blackened with fire in parts, riddled with bullet holes and there were dead bodies on the floor. Like rags tossed into corners, tossed down stairs. German, Czech, there was blood in pools on the floor and splattered on walls.
Katka had to shield her eyes. It made no difference the killings she had seen in the last few months, she’d had enough. She wanted to see no more. She followed Jan all the way to the top of the building, which was damaged more than on the first floors. It seemed the fighting had been worst here. On the top floor the building was just a shell, with doors, window frames and even the banister rails on the stairs blasted to pieces. Everything was blackened with soot and the floor was soaked with water. Katka hadn’t noticed the fire engine outside, that in the last part of the battle had fired water through the upper windows, presumably to take control of the fire that otherwise would have destroyed the radio station.
‘This must be the studio.’ Jan said as he led the way into a room that had a desk in the middle of it. A radio had been positioned on top of the desk. It was remarkably undamaged and behind the desk was a small man in police uniform. He didn’t look up when Katka and Jan entered, instead he sat with his head leant forward and the handset for the radio resting in his hand.
Jan coughed gently to signal their presence. But it took a moment for the man to register that someone had entered the room. For a long time he seemed lost in his thoughts with the battle for the radio station still ringing in his ears, but eventually he looked up and he looked from Jan to Katka and then smiled.
‘I’ve heard about you.’ he said.
‘About me?’ Katka replied.
‘You’re the girl who’s been on the run, aren’t you? Sabotaging bullets, blowing up record offices, fighting the Nazis in Germany. That’s you, isn’t it?’
‘No, I -’ Katka began, not quite able to piece it all together, her whole journey. Suddenly it was too much, she felt lost, unexpectedly confused and so she asked, ‘How? How do you know?’
But in reply the man just smiled. Then he lifted the radio handpiece to his mouth and said, in a voice that was calm and measured and one that Katka immediately recognised as the voice she had heard over the radio earlier, ‘This is a message for all Czech citizens. The radio station is secured. The battle on Vinohradska is won. We must now advance on the barracks and force the occupying soldiers into submission.’
He closed his eyes as he spoke and when he had delivered his message he rested his hand on his head for a moment. As if collecting his thoughts, he waited for a long moment before looking up again and when he did he said, ‘We must fight now. You especially, you need to take a leading role.’
‘Me?’ Katka exclaimed. She stepped backward, bumping into Jan, who was standing in the doorway behind her. ‘Why me?’
‘Because of what you have done, because -’
‘I did nothing.’ Katka protested.
‘You have played a key role.’ the man corrected her, ‘You have insired a nation into action and now it is time to complete what you have started.’
Katka tried to interrupt again but the man ignored her. He carried on speaking, ‘We must take whatever arms we can find. All citizens must be encouraged to join in the fight. This is why we need you to take a lead.’
‘But why would they follow me?’ Katka asked.
‘Because they know who you are, because word of your actions has spread through Prague in the last few days.’
‘But how -’ Katka began.
‘Because people speak, because news travels fast when people are in need of hope.’ he paused, allowing perhaps Katka to speak if she wished to. But Katka remained quiet so the man went on, ‘People will follow your lead and come out into the street as we drive the German soldiers back from the centre of the city. We must secure our control. We must barricade the streets.’
Katka nodded.
And as if deciding then that the conversation was over, the man lifted the radio receiver and began speaking again.
‘Come on.’ Jan said, a hand on Katka’s arm, ‘We should go.’
Katka turned and followed Jan out of the room. Together they walked down the stairs and then, out in the street, she felt suddenly exhilarated, alive - more alive than she had felt in her life.
We can do it, she told herself, tell the people to build barricades in the street. We can bring people from their houses to fight the last of the Nazis who still plagued this city. She turned towards the sound of fighting, which was taking place further along the street from the radio station now, closer to the centre. And just as she was about to head towards it, she heard Jan call to her from behind.
‘Wait.’ he said.
‘What?’ Katka replied.
Jan caught up with her and began speaking. He was explaining something, pointing in the direction of the gunfire. Katka wasn’t listening though, she didn’t hear a word he was saying because instead she was looking at his eyes, at the crease either side of his mouth as he frowned at her, and without thinking what she wanted to say she said, ‘You’re my father, aren’t you?’
Jan swallowed. He stopped speaking.