![]() ![]() This group first mobilized in March or April 1945 and joined the Václavík Division shortly after the May Revolution. One of the most notable was the Hýbl-Brodecký Brigade from Hradec Králové, commanded by Lieutenant Josef Hýbl, codename ‘Brodecký’ (7 July 1911–27 August 1953). The Václavík Division incorporated several smaller partisan brigades into its ranks. Image Credit: Miroslav Jeřábek’s personal effects, courtesy of his daughter. Photo of two men and a woman (the couple are possibly my great-grandparents) standing by a passenger car owned by the Hýbl-Brodecký Brigade, circa 1945. He owned the Kord liqueur distillery located in Kukleny, a suburb of the city of Hradec Králové, (neighbouring Miroslav Jeřábek’s village of Stěžery). It marked a continuation of his wartime resistance activities. Its founder was a man named Jan Ptáčník, codename ‘Václavík’ (–8 October 1987). By May 1945, it exceeded 5,000 members and boasted an impressive arsenal consisting of 20 motorcycles, 20 passenger cars, 50-60 trucks, one 75mm artillery cannon, and an improvised armoured train called the ‘Spark of Freedom.’ This group would represent a significant paramilitary force within the Orlické Mountains region in northeastern Bohemia. One partisan division that emerged in late 1944 was the Václavík Guerrilla Division. The Czech people had to wait until the War was over to seek justice against their oppressors. Opportunities for resistance were limited and amounted to only a handful of brave acts. Czechoslovakia then became known as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and remained a puppet fascist state until its liberation on. Nazi Germany annexed Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939. Image Credit: Náš Směr, c ourtesy of Franz Chocholatý Gröger. Photo of Minister of the Interior Václav Nosek (far left), Lieutenant Josef Hýbl (second from left), General František Tallavania (second from right), and Jan Ptáčník (far right), circa 1945. Rather, the focus here is to chronicle the experiences of ordinary Czechs such as Miroslav Jeřábek who did their small part to restore their country’s solidarity. These events have already been documented elsewhere. This period, referred to as the ‘wild expulsion’, preceded the organised eviction of approximately 3 million ethnic Germans and Hungarians from Czechoslovakia under the controversial Beneš Decrees of 1946, something which Czech President, Václav Havel, later apologised for in 1989/90. However, it is less concerned with those who disrupted the Bohemian borderlands with their indiscriminate persecution and displacement of thousands of Sudeten Germans. This article acknowledges the offences perpetrated by certain partisans (it would be wrong not to). Both Czechs and Germans alike have questioned the moral integrity of this movement and the controversial actions its members carried out under the banner of patriotism. The legacy of Czech partisans has come under scrutiny since the end of the War. There, his survival was his only priority.īut once he returned home to Czechoslovakia, joining the partisans resembled an ideal opportunity for him and other Czechs to achieve what had been denied to them during their oppression - to resist the Nazis and reclaim their country. Resistance fighters, ‘Revolutionary Guards,’ partisans, guerrillas are all names associated with the thousands of men and women who revolted against Nazi tyranny in Czechoslovakia at the end of the Second World War.Īs discussed in my previous article, the Third Reich forced my great-grandfather, Miroslav Jeřábek (20 October 1920–23 April 1989) to work in Germany. ‘ The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ![]() Original location unknown, though possibly taken in his village of Stěžery. Photo of Miroslav Jeřábek posing with a passenger car owned by the Hýbl-Brodecký Brigade, circa 1945. ![]()
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