VYŠETŘOVÁNÍ SÁZAVSKÉ AFÉRY

The aim of this study is to present the investigation of the Sázava affair, which has been underreported, even though it was a relatively important political affair that illustrates the radicalisation of Czechoslovak society in the 1920s. The study focuses on the description of the actual ambush of a high official of the Ministry of National Defence, Jaroslav Vorel, which took place on 23 August 1927 in the town of Sázava. It also examines the political background, the investigation, the press coverage and the consequences for the persons involved. The public called for exemplary punishment of the perpetrators of the robbery, but they were sentenced to only three and four months in prison, respectively, which is quite surprising given the seriousness of the armed robbery of one of the ministry‘s top officials. During the initial investigation, many other names of alleged accomplices, aiders and abettors and a number of often contradictory allegations were made by those arrested and investigated, and so the Sázava affair was retried in March 1929. However, this too fizzled out and the accused were acquitted in full due to lack of evidence. This brought the story of the Sázava affair to a definitive close. The excesses of the Czech fascists, however, certainly did not end there. Radicalisation in society continued to rise in the 1930s, but this time mainly in view of the consequences of the economic crisis and the worsening international situation after the Nazi attack in Germany. It is all the more important to remember that deep divisions in Czechoslovak society had existed much earlier, and the Sázava affair is a good example of this.