People riding around in Jeep at Pilsnen Liberation Festival in 2024 (Gary Brown)
With the 80th anniversary of VE-Day on May 8th, 2025, many places throughout the continent are holding celebrations to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe. One of the largest happens in Pilsen, Czechia. In 2025, the festival will happen May 2-6.
Nestled in the rolling hills of western Bohemia, the Czech city of Pilsen (Plzeň) is best known for being the birthplace of the golden beer that took its name and conquered the world; it has also become known for its annual liberation festival.
Soldier in a the 2024 parade at the festival (Gary Brown )
80 years ago, in May of 1945, the Third Reich was almost at an end. Nazi Germany was on the verge of defeat. The Western Allies had swept across Bavaria and into Austria, and the Russians were planting their flag on the Reichstag in Berlin. But it wasn’t the Soviet Red Army that rolled into Pilsen, it was the Americans. General George S. “Old Blood & Guts” Patton and the U.S. Third Army liberated the city on May 6th. The G.I.s were greeted by thousands of cheering Czechs who had resisted the Nazis for over seven years and awaited the day they would once again be free. Two days later, World War II in Europe ended.
However, that freedom was short-lived. The Americans had liberated most of western Czechia and could have easily captured Prague. At the Yalta Conference earlier in the war, the Americans and Soviets agreed that Czechoslovakia would fall under the communist sphere of influence. As the Cold War began and the Iron Curtain descended on Europe, it also fell over the memory of American involvement in the liberation. The history books were rewritten, the communist Red Army glorified. Praising the role of the United States, or even speaking fondly of the few months that Americans were in Czechia, was a quick way to end up in prison or much worse.
Monument to America in Pilsen, Czechia (Gary Brown)
Despite the oppression of the communist regime, the people of Pilsen never forgot what the Americans did to free them and their country from the Nazis. They kept the memory alive, hid their American flags, and told stories of the liberation to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When the Velvet Revolution of 1989 removed the communists from power, they celebrated in public. Every year since then, the city of Pilsen has thrown a massive week-long festival to show its thanks to the USA.
The 2025 commemoration is set to be especially notable. This year includes all of the concerts, parades, reenactments, and living history exhibits of previous years, but on a much larger scale!
The festival is meant to be a joyous event: A tribute to the sacrifices of those before us, an appreciation of the liberties now enjoyed, and a reminder that, when people try to rewrite the past, and change history, the truth survives. The Pilsen Liberation Festival says to the world every year: “We remember, and we will never forget.” That is something to raise a cold glass of Pilsner to.
Opening Ceremony on Republic Square (Friday, May 2)
Guided Walking Tours of the Old City (Saturday, May 3)
Daily Concerts of various genres, across the city (May 2-5)
The largest living history encampment in Central Europe (May 2-6)
Demonstrations of modern military firearms and equipment, hosted by the Czech and U.S. Army (May 2-3)
Speech & Commemoration by King Philippe of Belgium (Belgian Troops also helped liberate Pilsen) (May 6)
Convoy of Liberty; more than 400 vehicles from the 1940s, WW2 aircraft, marching bands, and U.S. Soldiers from Stuttgart and Grafenwoehr (Sunday, May 4)
Tours of the Patton Museum, dedicated to the American General who liberated Pilsen
Full Program & More Information: Official Tourist Website of Pilsen (in English)
Editor’s Note: This article was written by a member of the local military community, not an employee of Stars and Stripes. Neither the organization nor the content is being represented by Stars and Stripes or the Department of Defense.
