OrphanCrow, some of the information are available in the Czech or Slovak language; and can be obtained by request in local courts, by DoJ, and at the Institute of Totalitarian studies. The collaboration of JWs under communists is well documented, published, and researched subject in former Czechoslovakia. There are also peer review articles and the material is became rather extensive in the last 25 years. WWII topic is also well covered as Germans were excellent in record-keeping during Protectorate. However, there is a gap of information between the end of WWII and the communist takeover in 1948 and almost no data available to the public.
So, if I have read documents that JWs were investigated by revolutionary
tribunal in 1945 residing in chateau of Reichprotector and other
document said there were Bible Students from Germany, it is difficult
distinguish if they talked about the same people or two chateaus
of Reichprotectors of Lina Heydrich or Carola Blazek Frank. Both had own
servants and own chateau which were even located in the same city on
outskirt of Prague (Panenske Brezany). Czech speakers in 1945 would not use Bible students
for local JWs, and publications printed in Prague used Jehovah Witnesses
already in 1930's. Therefore, there is a mess what these documents
say and without access to original source, it is just a wild guess. Lina
was from Germany, but Carola was Sudeten German from northern Bohemian
city of Most (Brux in German), which had the largest Germans speaking
JW community prior WWII. However, Most was also an enclave of biggest Czech
speaking population in Sudetenland and thus Czech speaking JWs would
fall under jurisdiction of local courts. Meanwhile Lina's JWs would be
immediately expelled to Germany and Czechoslovak courts would not deal
with them at all. I have heard about the accusation of JWs compliance with Nazi during Protectorate already under communists, but again without peer material it is hard to say if it was just a hearsay.
Era between 1945 and 1948 in postwar Central Europe was very chaotic, which is also symbolized by mass population transfers. Even widespread postwar massacres are almost undocumented. 20 years ago my friend was looking for her grandmother killed during wild expulsion of Germans from Brno in May of 1945. While thousands of people were interred and executed, she was unable to find any information at all. It seems like all records were destroyed. 65-70 years later, all the witnesses are dead. Therefore, it would be interested how the retributive courts dealt with some collaboration accusations. Many of the these peoples courts and revolutionary tribunals were not even official and they deliberately had not left any paper trails. The institute of Totalitarian studies in Prague does not really cover these dark years.
Researching names for collaboration with the communist secret police is interesting. In Czech Republic all these information are available to public by laws, and once you obtain the document ID you can receive copy of the material. I have researched various names of people I knew within KH, my extensive family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. I have find names of elder and his wife with their address and DoB among these documents, and also a person who was not JW but spied for information about them among our local congregation. Any case, if these people collaborated with Stalinist regime in 1949-1953, I am sure people collaborated in WWII.
