[On “our side” again? Former Wehrmacht soldiers as soldiers of the Czechoslovak army-in-exile]

The article is based on author´s speech at the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) in Katowice. It describes the issue of recruiting former POWs from the Wehrmacht for the Czechoslovak army-in-exile. The article offers a basic comparison with the Polish army where the situation was almost the same: During the last two years of the war, former POWs became the most numerous recruitment source for both named exile armies. At the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, they formed up to one-third of their entire manpower. Despite this, their importance, value, and numbers have been constantly marginalised for long decades after the war. The phenomenon did not fit into the generally perceived narrative of the national resistance.