ATB Memorial, Most, Czech Republic
Posted by: 
ToRo61
N 50° 31.025 E 013° 38.364
33U E 403541 N 5597009
Memorial to Francis Niedermertel and other members of ATB in Most
Waymark Code: WMFJN0
Location: Ústecký kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 10/27/2012
Views: 73
Regional Museum in Most
The beginning of a museum in Most dates back to 1888, when the Mestské (Town) Museum was founded. The museum focused mainly on the history and traditional arts of German citizens. In 1928 the Podkrušnohorské museum in Most was founded and focused on the Czech state and residents of the Krušné hory Mountains foothills. After the occupation of borderland in 1938 the Podkrušnohorské museum was shut down and its collections were transferred to the Town Museum.
In front of museum is Memorial to military victims of the communist injustice.
The communist regime practice of suppressing the "class enemy" and created the Auxiliary Technical Battalions (EN: ATB; CZ: PTP Pomocné technické prapory (
visit link) ) where to it sent "politically unreliable" young men. Men, and in several cases also young women, served as conscripts of the Czechoslovak military but without weapons. At the military forced-labour camps they worked predominantly at construction works, uranium, coal and stone mining pits.
- The Czechoslovak military had created some 23 Auxiliary Technical Battalions (ATBs) of different levels from 1950 and the last four camps of forced labour were disbanded in 1954.
- About 60 thousand young people “served” at the camps, some 400 lost their life there.
- Their conscription service lasted from two to four years.
- Members of ATBs were paid for their work but they had to reimburse the military for accommodation, food and services connected with the stay at the camp.
- Uniforms of members of these camps had black shoulder boards, so they were colloquially called and known as the “Black Barons”.