Attack by racist skinheads on a group of Roma in Děčín and subsequent riots

Racism in post-revolutionary society  

In the months shortly after the fall of the communist regime, serious problems arose in ensuring the country’s internal security. The number of young people who joined the racist part of the skinhead subculture increased, and some punks were also influenced by racism at that time (they did not yet have information about the generally anti-racist orientation of punks in Western Europe). In some localities, skinhead and punk parties attacked Roma. The first severe crisis affected several towns in northern Bohemia after the incidents in Děčín. In Nový Bor, on April 21, skinheads attacked young Roma at a local disco with chains. In several towns, including Chánov, Litvínov, and Jablonec nad Nisou, Roma gathered or conducted their own patrols. As part of an extraordinary security operation, the Federal Minister of the Interior of the Czechoslovak Socialist Federal Republic of Germany assigned 150 soldiers from the Administration of the Troops of the Ministry of the Interior and 150 border guards to the disposition of the director of the Regional Administration of the National Security Corps to perform security duties in the North Bohemian Region. The situation in northern Bohemia then calmed down, but racist riots spread to other parts of the country (in Prague, they were mainly aimed at Vietnamese and tourists of non-white skin).