A Liquid State of Exception: The Shifting Boundaries of Violence in the Czech Lands, 1944– 1945

Abstract

This article explores the persistence and transformation of violence in the Czech lands during the transition from Nazi occupation to post-war retribution, with a focus on role reversals and shifting power dynamics. Through the concept of a "liquid state of exception," the study examines how Nazi anti-partisan operations, death marches, and the suppression of resistance cultivated extreme brutality, normalizing the treatment of civilians as enemy combatants. As Nazi authority disintegrated, Czechoslovak forces absorbed and adapted these learned practices, redirecting violence toward German civilians, alleged collaborators, and political targets. This ongoing cycle of violence demonstrates how retribution and exclusion reversed the roles of victims and perpetrators, blurring the line between vengeance and justice. By tracing the actions of key actors within the frameworks of power relations, personal choices, and institutional policies, this article uncovers the long-term legacies of wartime role reversals in post-war Czechoslovakia, where the echoes of wartime atrocities influenced post-war ethnic cleansing and social restructuring. This study thus situates the Czech lands within a broader transnational pattern of violent adaptation, offering new insights into the impact of occupation and resistance on Central European societies during the chaotic end of World War II.