by
Robert J. Paulson

Pscheheischen

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Pscheheischen was one of the 43 towns in feudal Chotieschau.  In a historical record it is mentioned, that dean Gotthard purchased the Chotischauer Cloister in the year 1253 from Prior Johann of the Hauses zur Mutter Gottes (House of the Mother of God) at the foot of the Prague Bridge of Bržeyschen, and Upper and Lower Sekeržan.  The former may have been the primary actor in creating today’s Pscheheischen.  In the year 1838, it was reported that someone from the community build two public chapels to host the Mary-Visitation to, the Festival of the Visitation was held in these two chapels along with prayer based worship services.  The building of a private school was also discussed by the community, with someone from the village becoming the primary teacher.  The chapels were built in 1903, paid for by the community, in the Neo-Gothic style, incorporating the two alters of the old church with a Pieta group and statue of the Virgin Mary.  With that, the parish of Obersekerschan was established and the parish church of St. Martin was consecrated, while the building of this church was taking place, Sunday mass took place in the village of Martini.  The community of Pscheheischen consisted of a Coalminer’s guild, and various Brick Maker’s guilds.  The village children attended three different classes of Volkschule (elementary school), where they were given the education they would need later in life.  The children with the highest marks would attend school five years past the Volksschule level, either at university or trade schools.  Societal tasks were performed by the deutsche Kulturverband, der Bund der deutschen Landjugend, and der Bund der Deutsche in Böhmen (The German Cultural Society, Union of German Outdoor Youth, and the Union of Germans in Bohemia).  The youth performed theater pieces in the winter months and upheld traditions, such as the Pfingstensreite and the Christmas High Festival, throughout the rest of year.  Easter and Pfingsten (the Pentecost) provided welcome breaks in the lives of the village’s inhabitants.  After the Second World War, the persecution of the German residents of Pscheheischen set in with vigor.  The most despicable acts were the arrests of individuals and their transport to prisons in Bory and Pilsen.  The affected individuals faced not only personal agony, but also death by starvation and torture, during their days and nights of fear and worry.  The new masters of Pscheheischen forced the German residents to leave their homes and possessions in August of 1945.  The refugees were transported to the interior of the Böhmerwald, and split up between the farms of Knechte and Mägde.  In 1946, those remaining in the forced-labor camp “Carlov”, in Pilsen, were transported with their families to Torgau in the Soviet Occupied zone in Germany.