Deceive, lure, and eliminate. A devilish trap in the form of a meticulously planned elimination of opponents of the Czechoslovak communist regime operated like a perfectly oiled machine for several years. Here is the story of Operation Border Stone.
Context
Between February 17 and 25, 1948, a communist coup took place in Czechoslovakia. This marked a shift from a previously outwardly democratic system to a new communist regime, which immediately began consolidating its power. While many people viewed this as an enthusiastic step toward building a fairer society, for others, it became a life-threatening turn. One thing, however, was clear to everyone: the country’s direction had irreversibly aligned with the Soviet bloc.
For many, leaving—or rather escaping—the country became the only way to avoid persecution and imprisonment by the communist dictatorship. Immediately after February 25, many non-communist members of parliament resigned, with a number of them quickly emigrating. This group became part of the first wave of post-February emigration, during which about 25,000 people left the country, mainly including families of political and military elites, Western pilots, entrepreneurs, and other democratically-minded citizens. Leaving, however, was not without risk.
The new communist regime closed the borders and classified crossing them as a crime. Leaving the country became a criminal offense with political implications under Act No. 231/1948 on the Protection of the Republic. Anyone attempting to do so, even just planning it, was considered by the security and judicial apparatus to be breaking the law and joining the enemy by moving abroad.
Although the Iron Curtain along the western Czechoslovakian border began to form as early as 1948, it became truly impenetrable in 1952 and 1953. Therefore, in the immediate aftermath of the communist coup, there were still places where, especially soon after February, passage was possible. Some people made attempts on their own, while others were helped by smuggling networks, often operated by locals who knew the terrain and created secret paths in inaccessible, swampy areas that were hard to monitor.
Seeing the intense desire of its citizens to leave, the communist secret police decided to exploit it. Near the western border with Germany, they set up an elaborate trap, using a network of provocateurs to lure unsuspecting victims. Thus, Operation Border Stone was born.
Operation Border Stone: Fake Borders and False Hope
It should be noted that these provocation operations involving fake borders were not only against today’s laws but were also illegal under the laws of that time. Nevertheless, legality was of little concern to the communists and their secret police.
So, in a tense period marked by desperate people trying to escape communist terror, living in an atmosphere of pervasive fear, the scene was set: on one side, desperate escapees, and on the other, a ruthless STB with provocateurs, fake smugglers, and informants. The stage for a tragic story was prepared.
This operation was not confined to a single location. In her book False Borders, Václava Jandečková identified seven locations where fake borders were set up: Aš, Háj/Stará Voda near Lázně Kynžvart (with the most victims, totaling nineteen), Kamenec/Tři Sekery near Mariánské Lázně, Kajetán pond near Tři Sekery, Pavlova Huť/Jalový Dvůr near Tachov, Svatý Kříž/Cheb, and Myslív/Všeruby near Domažlice.
So far, fifteen cases of detentions at fake borders have been documented, with around forty victims. However, the total number of Border Stone operations likely runs into the hundreds, though only the stories of a few dozen victims have been documented. No comprehensive or general STB information on these operations has been found.
The scenario was always simple. The STB (State Security (Czech: Státní bezpečnost, Slovak: Štátna bezpečnosť), or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it dealt with any activity that was considered opposition to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the state) set up fictitious offices of the American military counterintelligence agency CIC just beyond the apparent state border of Czechoslovakia. After February 1948, they used networks of provocateurs, who convinced their victims that they could smuggle them across the border, usually for a high fee, to lure people wanting to secretly leave the country to these fake offices.
These offices were set up realistically to create the convincing illusion of American military counterintelligence. During staged interrogations, escapees were tricked into disclosing details of their activities against the regime, information about their contacts still within Czechoslovakia, and sometimes even handing over weapons they had in their possession. After the interrogation, the refugees were led to a collection camp. Along the way, they would “lose their way” back into Czechoslovakia, where they would be arrested. Alternatively, while on the “German side,” they were “ambushed” by SNB patrols, detained, and “abducted” back to Czechoslovakia.
The information obtained through deception in the fictitious American offices was then used in trials, leading to harsh sentences. The STB also used the emigrant’s information about contacts still living in Czechoslovakia to conduct further persecutions.
Most detainees never saw through the provocation, even after being imprisoned and until their death, believing they had briefly been on the western side of the border and were recaptured due to bad luck or incomprehensible behavior by American military authorities (Tomek).
Why Was Operation Border Stone So Successful?
Prokop Tomek addresses this question in his article/book review on the topic: “The incredible success of this daring provocation remains a mystery. How could Czechoslovak security personnel create such a believable illusion without expert assistance? Perhaps this is what makes the provocations in Operation Border Stone so fascinating. In later decades, the STB usually failed to create such convincing illusions. One explanation could lie in the foundational cadre from the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was partly composed of remarkable individuals unafraid to make bold decisions, people with language skills who had experienced extraordinary situations either in foreign or domestic resistance movements, in concentration camps, or came from relatively cultured backgrounds.”
The stories of Operation Border Stone are not merely chapters from the past but also a warning for the future. A state apparatus that abuses power often hides its true intentions behind a mask of false security. If there’s anything to be learned from this history, it’s this: never underestimate how easily the truth can be transformed into institutionalized lies.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Border_Stone
https://english.radio.cz/key-stb-agent-who-masterminded-fake-border-posts-dies-aged-92-8302396
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