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| accessdate = 2008-03-27 }}</ref> the succesful mission to assassinate [[Reinhard Heydrich]]. |
| accessdate = 2008-03-27 }}</ref> the succesful mission to assassinate [[Reinhard Heydrich]]. |
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Opálka was born to a middle class family in [[Rešice]] and joined the Czechoslovak army in 1936 where he served in the 43rd Infantry Regiment in [[Brno]]. |
Opálka was born to a middle class family in [[Rešice]] and joined the Czechoslovak army in 1936 where he served in the 43rd Infantry Regiment in [[Brno]]. The [[Munich Agreement]] and subsequent [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia]] lead to disband of the Czechoslovak Army and Opalka's career ended. He escaped to [[North Africa]] where he served in the [[French Foreign Legion]] and later returned to [[French Third Republic|France]]. He then joined the ''Out Distance'' group and participated in the successful Operation Anthropoid. He was found days later by the [[Nazism|Nazis]] and committed [[suicide]] in the [[Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius]] after a gunfight in which he was injured. |
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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Revision as of 16:30, 16 April 2008
Adolf Opálka | |
|---|---|
| File:Adolf Opalka.jpg Lt. Adolf Opálka | |
| Allegiance | Czechoslovak Army |
| Years of service | 1936–1942 |
| Rank | Lieutenant, 2nd Mountain Regiment, Ružomberok[1], Sergent, Mlle, 85.525, 1er Rgmt Legion Etrangere, Sidi Bel Abbes[1], Sergent, 11éme R.T.S., Oran[1], Lieutenant, 3. Czechoslovak Regiment, Agde[1] First Lieutenant, 1st Czechoslovak Brigade, Kineton[1] |
| Commands | commander of Out Distance |
| Awards | Czechoslovak War Cross[1], Golden Medal of Cs. Army for Freedom[1], First Class Star of Czechoslovak Army Order of White Lion for Victory[1], Order of Milan Rastislav Štefánik (third class)[1], King's Commendation[1] |
First Lieutenant Adolf Opálka (4 January 1915 – 18 June 1942) was a Czechoslovak soldier. He was a member of the sabotage group Out Distance, a World War II anti-nazi resistance group, and a participant in Operation Anthropoid,[2] the succesful mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich.
Opálka was born to a middle class family in Rešice and joined the Czechoslovak army in 1936 where he served in the 43rd Infantry Regiment in Brno. The Munich Agreement and subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia lead to disband of the Czechoslovak Army and Opalka's career ended. He escaped to North Africa where he served in the French Foreign Legion and later returned to France. He then joined the Out Distance group and participated in the successful Operation Anthropoid. He was found days later by the Nazis and committed suicide in the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius after a gunfight in which he was injured.
Life
Opálka was born in Rešice near Dukovany as an illegitimate son of the miller Viktor Jarolím (1889–1942) from Tulešice and Anežka Opálková.[citation needed] When his mother died in 1923, Opálka lived with his aunt, Marie Opálková (1882–1942).[3]
Between 1932–1936, Opálka studied at the Commercial Academy and, shortly after his graduation in 1936, he joined the army of Czechoslovakia.[citation needed] After recruitment and training, he was assigned to the 43rd Infantry Regiment in Brno and shortly afterwards joined the Army Academy in Hranice. After graduation, Opálka joined the 2nd Mountain Regiment in Ružomberok as a lieutenant.[2]
The Munich Agreement ended Opálka's army career in his homeland, and he left Czechoslovakia with his cousin, František Pospíšil. First traveling through Poland and France, they fled to North Africa, where they joined the French Foreign Legion.[4] Opálka served in Sidi Bel Abbes as a sergeant of the 1st Infantry Regiment. Later, he joined Senegal's Gunmen in Oran.
Opálka's fiancée said this about the period in his life:
…shortly before he left he burned all our correspondence, I did the same on his request. In the morning before he left, I photographed him for the last time. The picture is unhappy just like the departure itself, because we didn't know what he was putting himself into…
After the start of World War II and the occupation of Czechoslovakia, Opálka returned to France and joined a developing Czechoslovak army in Agde, serving as a commander of an infantry platoon of the 2th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Czechoslovak Infantry Division.[citation needed] In January 1940, he was transferred to the 3rd Infantry Division and commanded the 5th Infantry Battalion.[4][3]
On 12 July 1940, when France was defeated, Opálka sailed on the ship Neuralia to the United Kingdom and as an unfiled officer served in a machine gun platoon. In the summer of 1941, he volunteered as a soldier for covert operations behind enemy lines. He had been trained in Scotland in Special Training Schools. Afterwards, he became commander of the group codenamed "Out Distance".[4]
Out Distance
Opálka (cover name "Adolf Král"), Ivan Kolařík ("Jan Krátký"), and Karel Čurda ("Karel Vrbas") secretly landed on 28 March 1942, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia to perform covert operations including bomber navigation and sabotage.[citation needed] The operations of Out Distance were complicated from the beginning. A navigational mistake by the Handley Page Halifax plane caused the entire group to be dropped in to the wrong location.[citation needed] Together with the loss of equipment, this lead to the split of the group. Opálka contacted captain Alfréd Bartoš from the group Silver-A, and informed him of the situation. He later joined the group gathered around Operation Anthropoid in Prague and became leader of the Prague parachuters.[5]
Operation Anthropoid
After the successful assassination of Heydrich with a modified anti-tank grenade, Opálka and his six fellow combatants (Josef Bublík, Josef Gabčík, Jan Hrubý, Jan Kubiš, Josef Valčík, and Jaroslav Švarc) were trapped in the Church of St. Cyril and St. Methodious in Prague.[citation needed] At 4:15 p.m. on 28 June 1942, at the church was besieged by 800 soldiers of the Wehrmacht Heer and Waffen-SS.[1] After seven hours of battle,[6] the outnumbered group of paratroopers fell. All died, including First Lieutenant Opálka who, injured by a grenade shell, committed suicide.[7][8]
Opálka wrote this shortly after his departure, on his 27th birthday, speaking of home sickness:
I'm 27 years old today, the entire trip I pondered upon the words "Longing for home is a terrible thing, I know". Yes, only know do I know and understand. And this "home sickness" of Božena Němcová, which I never understood, is nothing compared to my longing for home. I'm willing to suffer through, and do whatever it takes, but only home and home and to honestly work, work for something... How can some speak of beauty, when they've never seen Rešice and the fields from Kordula to Rešice, who never strolled through the warm dirt there, who never felt the warm air and over the grain fields, who never saw our chapel in the milk of white cherries, Husák's garden, wich always reminded me of Sholokhov, especially the dirt lumps under the "vortex" and the "Bare Hill" and all the other places on all of which I am. Parts of me are all over the world. In England, little was left of me, maybe more in Scotland... 27 years of life behind me. Death for my homeland. With that I have dealt, and am ready to do what it takes.
— Adolf Opálka[3]
After the mission of the paratroopers, the Nazis unleashed strong reprisals. Opálka's aunt, Marie Opálková, was executed in Mauthausen on 24 October 1942.[9] His father Viktor Jarolím was also killed.[10]
Honors and decorations
- 1939, 1942 and 1945 Československý válečný kříž (Czechoslovak war cross)[1]
- 1947 King's Commendation, posthumously[1]
- 1949 Zlatá hvězda Čs. vojenského řádu Za svobodu (Golden medal of Czechoslovak army for freedom), posthumously[1]
- 1968 Hvězda I. třídy Čs. vojenského řád u bílého lva Za vítězství (First class star of Czechoslovak army order of White lion for victory), posthumously[1]
- 1991 Řád M. R. Štefánika III. třídy (Order of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, third class), posthumously[1]
- 2002 Promoted to colonel, posthumously[4]
Films
Two films based on Operation Anthropoid were made. The Czechoslovak Atentát, and the American Operation Daybreak where Opálka was portrayed by Jiří Krampol.[citation needed] There is also German television film, Reinhard Heydrich - Manager des Terrors. (IMDB profile)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Grasgruber, Pavel. "Rešice, Druhá světová válka". UOK Znojmo. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ a b Kadlečík, Martin. "Operace Anthropoid-následky". AlterMedia. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ a b c d Grasgruber, Jiří (2007-05-18). "Atentát na Heydricha před 65 lety". Zrcadlo.info. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ a b c d Menšíková, Miroslava (2008-12-18). "Adolf Opálka at Brno Encyclopedia". Brno Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ White, Lewis M. On All Fronts: Czechoslovaks in World War II. East European Monographs. ISBN 0880334568.
- ^ Marek, Vladimír (2002-09-01). "Atentát z hlediska vyššího principu". army.cz. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ "Sedm statečných z Resslovy ulice". Ministerstvo obrany Ceske republiky. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ Hutak, J.B. With Blood and with Iron: The Lidice Story. Robert Hale. p. 133.
- ^ "Pamětní deska Adolf Opálka". eStránky.cz. 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Pomník obětem válek". eStránky.cz. 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
Further reading
- David Stafford, "Britain and European Resistance, 1940−1945", University of Toronto Press 1980, ISBN 0802023614.
- Lewis M. White, "On All Fronts: Czechoslovaks in World War II", ISBN 0880333197.
- David Chackom "Like a Man", ISBN 9780972373746.
- J.B. Hutak, "With Blood and with Iron: The Lidice Story"
External links
- Remembrance of Operation Anthropoid members Template:Cs icon
- Encyclopedia of Brno Template:Cs icon
- Opalka's personal file Template:Cs icon
