Dr. Rudolf Plajner (April 5, 1901 in

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

– June 23, 1987) was declared the Chief Scout of the newly unified Czech Scouts and Guides association called

Junák Junák – český skaut (''Junák – Czech Scouting''), is the internationally recognized organization of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic. Founded in 1911, Junák – český skaut is the largest organisation of children and youth in t ...

, after its inception on January 22, 1939. Junák was abolished by force and Scouting prohibited by German State Secretary

Karl Hermann Frank Karl Hermann Frank (24 January 1898 – 22 May 1946) was a prominent Sudeten German Nazi official in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia prior to and during World War II. Attaining the rank of '' Obergruppenführer'', he was in command of th ...

during the

Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

on October 28, 1940. After

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 opposing ...

, the association was reborn. His function was confirmed at the third Junák council or meeting (cs:sněm) in 1968, and served in this function until the end of his life. Plajner was an RNDr., the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

, specializing in math and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at Charles University in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. Between 1929 and 1959 he lived and taught at the '' :cs:reálné gymnázium'' (

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

) in

Holešov Holešov (; german: Holleschau, he, העלשויא) is a town in Kroměříž District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is protected ...

. Plajner took part in building Defense of the Nation ( :cs:Obrana národa) and in other resistance organizations. He was arrested in 1943, and released after two months. He again joined the

Czech resistance to Nazi occupation Resistance to the German occupation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia during World War II began after the occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia and the formation of the protectorate on 15 March 1939. German policy deterred acts of ...

and cooperated with guerrilla brigade "

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha ( en, John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czech general – a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus and a Radical Hussite who led the Taborites. Žižka was a successful milit ...

". For fighting to liberate

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

from German occupation during World War II, he received the Czechoslovak War Cross (''Československý válečný kříž'') from president Dr.

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 194 ...

. After the war Plajner received several honors and Junák started to work again in 1945, but in 1948 was included in the ''Socialist Youth Union'' ( :cs:Socialistický svaz mládeže, SSM), the Czechoslovakian Communist youth organisation, and dissolved in 1950. Plajner was arrested and imprisoned shortly in 1949 in

Uherské Hradiště Uherské Hradiště (; german: Ungarisch Hradisch, hu, Magyarhradis) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. The agglomeration with the two neighbouring towns of Staré Město and Kunovice has over ...

. Junák shortly renewed its existence between 1968 and 1970 after the Prague Spring. In the communist period he and members of his family were persecuted. Later in this period he received several state and Scout awards due to his work for the Scouting movement, including the Silver Wolf. Plajner spent the end of his life in Luka pod Mednikem, now part of Jílové u Prahy, where he wrote a series of books and writings about the history and Scout life of the Junák movement. He published mostly on Scouting topics, and is the author of the Scout handbook ''Přiručka pro Junáky'', ''Junácké hry pro školy a oddíly'' (Junák games for schools and troops), ''Radosti junáckého roku'' (Joys of the Scout year) and ''Úsvit českého junáctví'' (Sunrise of Czech Scouting).

External links

* Napajedelské noviny, Kdo byl professor RNDr. Rudolf Plajner ( pdf)
http://www.napajedla.cz/…/082001.pdf
* Valašské Athény, Slovník osobností východní Moravy
http://www.divadloschod.cz/…
* RNDr. Rudolf Plajner – Táta

* History of Gymnázium L. Jaroše in Holešov (1939–1945)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plajner, Rudolf 1901 births 1987 deaths People from Prostějov Czech people of German descent Scouting pioneers Scouting and Guiding in the Czech Republic Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Chief Scouts Charles University alumni