Oldřich Pechal (13 May 1913 – 22 September 1942) was a Czech soldier. He served as a soldier in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, fighting in the Czechoslovak and British armies against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He was captured following a failed operation in 1942, and was executed in

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

that same year. Pechal is considered a national hero of the Czech Republic.

Biography

Pechal was born on 13 May 1913 in Osvětimany, then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. His father was a forester, and Pechal spent much of his time in Vřesovice. He also developed a reputation for his athletic ability. After graduating from grammar school, Pechal enlisted in the Czechoslovak army in 1934. Following the outbreak of World War II and the subsequent

occupation of Czechoslovakia Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

by the German army, Pechal fled to France to continue the fight against the Germans. In France he joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

, but did not see combat before the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

caused him to be evacuated to the United Kingdom. In the UK, Pechal underwent paratrooper and cryptography training in Scotland in preparation for a mission inside Czechoslovakia, as the Allies were concerned that the Czech Resistance movement was in danger of being completely dismantled by the Germans. Before he was deployed, Pechal was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. Having completed his training, Pechal and two other Czech operatives (collectively code-named ZINC) were dropped behind German lines on 28 March 1942. The intended target of the drop was Moravia, but a navigational error resulted in the trio being dropped near the village of

Gbely Gbely (German and Hungarian: ''Egbell'') is a town in the Skalica District, Trnava Region in western Slovakia, close to the Czech border. History The first written record about Gbely was in 1392. It gained town rights in the 16th–17th centurie ...

in Slovakia, forcing the three to split up and cross into Moravia on foot. During his crossing, Pechal was briefly detained by two German customs officers, who assumed he was a smuggler. Pechal escaped custody and killed one of the officers, but was forced to flee without his supplies - including his forged identification papers, which were recovered by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

. Pechal was able to remain hidden in the woods, but by 2 April the Gestapo were able to confirm his identity and begin a search. Pechal made his way to his parents' house, where he stayed for a night before moving on. Two days later, the German occupational authorities launched a raid against Pechal's home town of Vřesovice, detaining many of Pechal's relatives and other townspeople. Pechal escaped the raid and evaded the occupational authorities for a month, eventually finding shelter with two parish priests, Václav Kostiha and František Voneš, in Ždánice. However, several days later Pechal was contacted by a former resistance member turned German collaborator, who offered to escort Pechal to Bres and re-establish communications with London. The collaborator lured Pechal into a trap, and as such he was captured after a fierce struggle. Both priests who had helped Pechal were also captured and executed. After his capture by the Germans, Pechal was subjected to a brutal beating, days of harsh interrogation, and was told that 8 members of his family had been executed in retaliation for his activities. However, he refused to crack and did not divulge the identity of his fellow agents or details of his mission. He was transferred to

, where he was executed by hanging on 22 September 1942.

Legacy

Pechal was awarded the State Defense Cross of the Czech Republic in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pechal, Oldrich 1913 births 1942 deaths People executed by Nazi Germany by hanging Czech soldiers People from Uherské Hradiště District People from the Margraviate of Moravia Czech resistance members Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II Czech people executed in Nazi concentration camps People who died in Mauthausen concentration camp