Jiří Navrátil (10 September 1923 – 16 January 2017) was a

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 *Czech (surnam ...

translator, journalist, political prisoner of the Communist regime and

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

who served as the President of

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 ...

, the Czech national Scout and Guide association. Navrátil was born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where his father was a consul. In 1937 he became a Scout in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He was arrested and held several months by the Gestapo during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1949, he tried to oppose the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia with other Scouts. Along with

Dagmar Skálová Dagmar Skálová (née Šimková, 6 November 1912 – 15 July 2002) was a Czech Scout and a political prisoner. She was born in Plzeň in then what was Austria-Hungary. Early life Dagmar Šimková was born on 6 November 1912 in Plzeň, and chr ...

, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and was released in 1960. He took part in the renewal of Scouting in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1968. Following the third renewal of Scouting in 1989, Navrátil became a member of the Central Committee of Junák and, later on in 1992, was elected to serve as a President of Junák. He stayed on to serve as a vice-president of Junák from early 2000s until his death in 2017.

Background

During the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

in 1968, Navrátil was one of the refounders of Junák, the Czech Scout movement, which was suppressed again in 1970. Following the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

in 1989, he became one of the main Leaders of the third restoration of Junák. He was one of the facilitators of the 1999 10th European Conference of Guiding and Scouting in Prague, in which President

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

gave the opening speech. In 2002, Navrátil was awarded the 292nd ''

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

'', the only distinction of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. Jiří Navrátil was married to Běla Navrátilová, née. Válková, they had one son named Tomáš. Navrátil was one of the founders of the Masaryk Democratic Movement in Prague in November 1989. Navrátil died on 16 January 2017 at the age of 93.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Navratil, Jiri 1923 births 2017 deaths Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Scouting and Guiding in the Czech Republic Czechoslovak expatriates in Germany Prisoners and detainees of Czechoslovakia