Generals – It Doesn't Matter Where the Blood Will Be Shed

Czech Documentary Series

The Czechoslovak Sergej Vojcechovský

Directed by Ludvík Franc, Czech Republic 2024, 26 min.

This documentary about General Sergej Vojcechovský offers a unique insight into the life and military career of a key commander who played a pivotal role in the Czechoslovak army. Produced by the Museum of the 20th Century Memory, the film features historians as well as Vojcechovský’s great-grandson, Marc Voicechovski, who visited the Czech Republic for the first time. He also visited the villa on Dělostřelecká Street, where Sergej Vojcechovský was interrogated by the Soviet secret service SMERSH in May 1945.
The film traces not only Vojcechovský’s military service in Russia, his arrival in Czechoslovakia, and his distinguished military career, but also his tragic fate after World War II. In 1945, he was forcibly taken back to the Soviet Union, imprisoned in the gulag, and ultimately died there. The documentary reveals the fascinating story of a man whose life was deeply intertwined with the dramatic history of the 20th century. Archival footage provided by the Military History Institute in Prague is also featured in the film.

Generals – It Doesn’t Matter Where the Blood Will Be Shed

Directed by Zdeněk Všelicha, Czech Republic 2021, 52 min.

March 14, 1939. On the eve of the Nazi occupation, three cars leave the headquarters of the Czechoslovak army. Intelligence officers are transporting secret documents that must be taken to safety. This dramatic event foreshadows a new era, one in which the Czechoslovak army becomes part of the resistance. For more than five years, it will fight alongside foreign armies as well as underground at home.
The documentary captures the wartime occupation through the fates of Generals Sergej Ingr, Josef Bílý, and František Moravec.

Introduction by historian Petr Blažek.

In original version.