page_title: Matt Konop
section_title: Bronze plaque dedication
hierarchical_section_title: Matt Konop / Bronze plaque dedication
caption_attribution_description: English: Bronze plaque celebrating Lt. Col. Konop's role in the liberation of Czechoslovakia in WWII. Hruska Bldg, Domazlice.
context_page_description: Lieutenant Colonel Matt Konop was a United States Army officer during World War II, noted for his fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and celebrated in the Czech Republic for his role in the liberation of the cities of Domažlice and Pilsen in Czechoslovakia near the end of the war.
  In early May 1945, Konop was made the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division advance party by Second Infantry Division Commanding Officer General Walter M. Robertson, who had learned of Konop's Czech lineage and ability to speak the language. Konop's advance force coincidentally liberated the same Czech villages where his grandparents had lived before they emigrated to America. During the liberation, news spread throughout the region that "one of our own" had returned to free the people from six years of occupation by Nazi Germany.
  Today, a bronze plaque of Konop is mounted on the Hruska building in the main square of Domažlice, in the Czech Republic, where he parked his jeep on May 4, 1945, and received a hero's welcome in the closing days of the war. In 2016, Konop was made an honorary citizen of the town of Domazlice.
context_section_description: On May 5, 2015, a bronze relief plaque reproducing the photo of Konop on the shoulders of the townspeople was installed on the outside of the Hruska building in the main square in Domazlice, and dedicated to Matt Konop's role in bringing freedom to the area. The plaque's text is in both Czech and English. In Konop's left hand is his Kodak movie camera.
caption: Bronze plaque celebrating Col. Konop's role in the liberation of Czechoslovakia in WWII. Hruska Bldg, Domazlice.
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