týden.cz: Archaeologists in Plzeň are looking for the M.A.S.H. hospital

It was probably the most famous American field hospital in Czechoslovakia. The soldiers built it right in Pilsen and it helped the city immensely at the end of the war. It also treated civilians and had the miracle drug penicillin. Now archaeologists are trying to find it and document it. They're also looking for local survivors.
Archaeologists from Pilsen, the Academy of Sciences and Charles University have begun to examine the remains of an American field hospital in Pilsen's Borský Park. It was the largest in western Bohemia, which was liberated by the American army. American doctors, nurses and other staff, which numbered about 300 soldiers, also treated Pilseners there from May to September 1945. The well-equipped hospital had a stock of penicillin.
The work of the scientists conducting the geophysical survey will be presented during the celebrations of the liberation from 2 to 6 May. "We are now looking for the exact location of the hospital. The problem is that a large part of the site has been destroyed by the tennis courts. We have aerial photographs of the US Air Force before the liberation, when Pilsen was being bombed. But there was nothing standing in the park then. But from May to September (1945) we have not managed to get any pictures from the Americans, we don't know if they took any pictures at all," said Pavel Vařeka, head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.
People will be able to take a virtual tour of the hospital directly at
. They will also locate the site based on memories of witnesses and traces in the landscape from 1946, when Pilsen was photographed by the Czechoslovak Army. Vařeka said that 80 to 90 percent of the area appears to be under the courts, where the remains can no longer be examined. “And only part of it extends into Borski Park, and we will now verify that,” he said. The hospital was large. “There were about 300 soldiers working there, including 40 nurses and 40 officer-doctors and others,” he said. Next to the field hospital was a US Army camp.
Archaeologists will work to discover and pinpoint the remains. "By combining archaeology with period photographs and memories of witnesses, I believe it will be possible to virtually reconstruct it in augmented reality. So, using a QR code, a visitor could download a mobile phone app and walk through the hospital in 3D on site. I believe we will implement this this year," Vařeka said.
The researchers are also drawing on people's contemporary accounts, some of which are in the collections of the West Bohemian Museum. They are working with military history clubs, which have invited Pilsen residents who have any memories or images. Lenka Stark, head of Pilsen's new Digital Archaeology Centre, said archaeologists will be on site for the liberation celebrations. “It will probably be connected with some small uncovering and a lot for the public,” she said.
A rich World War II history lies beneath Pilsen
The centre has already created a 3D model of the surface of the area, which is tens of square metres in size. "But we are not sure yet and we are trying to reconstruct the image. It's at the very beginning," she said. Vařeka said the first phase will be a non-invasive geophysical survey using GPR, which will drive around the area and measure anomalies below the surface, such as sewage pits and water drains. And where they find something, probes will be placed to examine the underground.
"The Pilsen field hospital was certainly the most famous. After the end of the war, it no longer treated soldiers wounded in battle, but it played a huge role in Pilsen by providing medical care to the citizens of Pilsen. And it had penicillin, state-of-the-art equipment and saved lives," Vařeka said.
The research is part of the Wild Earth project, the first of whose seven themes is the Archaeology of Liberators. In Plzeň, researchers are also beginning to examine the remains of anti-aircraft defences, the so-called “Flaks” (German Flak guns), whose positions were in a ring around Plzeň and many of their locations are well preserved. "The Americans were bombing Pilsen and the Flaks were trying to prevent that. The heavy anti-aircraft fire numbered 150 barrels of twenty batteries," he said. Further research will focus on the presence of American soldiers in and around Pilsen.
Date of publication: 15.04.2025, 14:04:00, Date of import: 15.04.2025 16:13:27, Source: tyden.cz, Author.