New Czech video game places players amid 1939 anti-Nazi protests

Experience the courage of Czechoslovak students in the face of Nazi occupation in Train to Sachsenhausen, a new free-to-play video game from Charles Games and Živá paměť (Living Memory) released this weekend for Android, iOS, and PC.

Billed as the first game ever to feature the 1939 Czechoslovak student protests against Nazi occupation, Train to Sachsenhausen is available in English, Czech, and German-language versions.

In the game, players experience events that parallel the real-world protests during which Czech universities were closed, university students were executed, and others were deported by train to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Train to Sachsenhausen combines RPG elements with a card-based game system in which each decision made by the player has an impact on future developments. The game's multiple endings have been inspired by first-hand witness testimony, while its visual style contrasts dark comic book-like imagery with authentic period-era recordings.

"Train to Sachsenhausen offers a short, intense experience where each decision the player makes can influence their fate," Vít Šisler, the game’s main designer, explains in a press release.

Players are cast in the role of a young medical student during the gameplay, which takes place during the events of 1939. The game studio worked with historians from Živá paměť to ensure the events of the game were accurately presented.

Real-world events such as the funeral of Jan Opletal, the arrests of university students, and ultimately their transportation to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp are experienced first-hand by the player.

“We are glad that we can use this innovative format to share information about important historic events related to 17 November 1939," Pavel Voves, historian and director of Živá paměť, says in a press release for the game.

"I believe this mobile app will boost interest among Czech youth (and the general public) in learning about the fates of Czech university students who ended up victims of Nazi repression."

Game studio Charles Games is no stranger to real-world historical games that tackle serious subject matter. The studio previously published Attentat 1942, about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague, and Svoboda 1945: Liberation, which dealt with the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent rise of communism.

More information about Train to Sachsenhausen can be found at the game's official website.