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Přemysl Pitter (21 June 1895 – 15 February 1976) was a Czech humanist, pacifist, pedagogue, social worker and evangelical preacher. He founded Milíč House 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 ...
, 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 ...
supported Jewish families and after the end of the war organized the “Operation Castles” in which he and his colleagues provided health and social care for children from German
concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
as well as those from Czech internment camps. After the onset of the communist regime he was forced to emigrate. First he worked 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 he provided pastoral and social support to the refugees in the Valka refugee camp near
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, later lived in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Přemysl Pitter was named
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
by the Israeli government, in 1973 he was awarded The
Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
Ist Class of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 1991 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 ...
conferred upon Přemysl Pitter the
Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...
, in memorian.


Early life

Přemysl Pitter was born on 21 June 1895 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 ...
-
Smíchov Smíchov () is, since 1922, a district and cadastral area of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river. History It was only on 22 February 1903, that Smíchov was elevated to ...
to Karel Pitter, owner of a printing company, and his wife Žofie Pitter (née Hořejší). His six siblings died in infancy, so he grew up as an only child. He studied at a typographical school and a business college in Prague; between 1911 and 1912 he attended a printing school in
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
. He was deeply affected by the death of his mother in 1911 and his father in 1913; the printing company he inherited was in financial trouble. In an attempt to solve his problems, Pitter enlisted as a volunteer during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. His terrible war experience affected him for the rest of his life; he returned a devout Christian and a pacifist. He decided to dedicate his life to helping others.


Public activity 1920-1938

After the war he began to dedicate himself to public and educational activities. He lectured at various places and began to organise activities for socially endangered children in Prague
Žižkov Žižkov ( or ''Zizkow'', between 1939 and 1945 ''Veitsberg'') is a cadastral district of Prague, Czech Republic. Most of Žižkov lies in the municipal and administrative district of Prague 3, except for very small parts which are in Pra ...
. He also became a member of many associations such as The Academic YMCA, The War Resisters´ International,
International Fellowship of Reconciliation The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war in Europe. Today IFOR counts 71 branches, groups and affiliates in 48 countries on all continents. IFOR m ...
(IFOR), Czechoslovak Vegetarian Club, League Against Anti-Semitism or The League for Human Rights. Between years 1924 and 1941 he published and edited the magazine Sbratření (Fraternisation). He participated in an international conference of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation in
Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...
in 1926, where he met the teacher Olga Fierz: for the rest of his life Fierz was his closest associate. Working for children was his most important activity. He founded Building and housing association The Milíč House in 1922 and started to collect financial means from donors. The Milíč House was opened on Christmas Day 1933 and children from poor families could spend their free time there with various activities such as singing, handicrafts, table games, theatre play, German courses or cooking, sports games or gardening. Prague Milíč House was based on voluntary cooperation and solidarity. In 1938, a year-round sanatorium was set up in Mýto by
Rokycany Rokycany (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Admini ...
. The first inhabitants of sanatorium were children of refugees from
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. Several of them managed to leave
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 children´s transports organized by Nicolas Winton.


Second World War and post-war “Operation Castles”

At the time of
German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
, the Milíč House became the centre of secret support for persecuted
Jewish families Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
(Pitter visited the family of
Petr Ginz Petr Ginz (1 February 1928 – 28 September 1944) was a Czechoslovak boy of partial Jewish background who was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto (known as Terezín, in Czech) during the Holocaust. He was murdered at the age of sixteen when ...
, for example). Pitter was interrogated by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...
, fortunately he was released. Immediately after the end of the war, Pitter initiated the “Operation Castles” (1945 – 1947), action to help children coming back from the
concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
, among others Yehuda Bacon. Castles Štiřín, Olešovice, Kamenice and Lojovice (near Prague) were transformed into sanatoriums. The “Operation Castles” was soon expanded to help German children from internment camps, too. During the deportations of Germans, Pitter tried to arrange the reunion of the children with their parents or relatives. The search for the lost children was based at the Milíč House office, which cooperated with German search services until 1950. A total of 810 children went through the “Operation Castles” between 1945 – 1947.


Exile

After February 1948, when the Communists seized power, Pitter and his colleagues began to be persecuted. The Milíč House was transformed into a regular after school club. Pitter emigrated (under the threat of imprisonment) to the
Federal Republic of 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 constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...
in summer 1951. He started to cooperate with
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
since 1952. For 10 years Přemysl Pitter and Olga Fierz became social workers in the Valka refugee camp near
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
. Since 1962 they lived in
Affoltern am Albis Affoltern am Albis (abbreviated as ''Affoltern a.A.''; Swiss German: ''Affoltere'') is a town and a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Affoltern is first mentioned in 1190 as ''Afiltre ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. They published an exile magazine Hovory s pisateli (Talks with Writers). Pitter was active in immigrant associations. He died in 1976.


Honours

For the rescue of Jewish children Pitter received the honour of
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
The Righteous Among the Nations in 1964. In 1973 was Pitter awarded by the
Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany by the President of Germany
Gustav Heinemann Gustav Walter Heinemann (; 23 July 1899 – 7 July 1976) was a German politician who was President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He served as mayor of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and Mini ...
. In 1991, 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 ...
conferred on P. Pitter the Order of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk IIIrd Class in memoriam for outstanding merits for democracy and human rights.


Further reading

*Kohn, Pavel: Castles of Hope. Přemysl Pitter in memory of “his children“, L. Marek Publishing House 2018, *Kosatík, Pavel: Sám proti zlu (in Czech), Paseka, Praha 2009, *Pitter, Přemysl – Fierzová, Olga: Nad vřavou nenávisti (in Czech), Kalich 1996, *Fierzová, Olga: Dětské osudy z doby poválečné (in Czech), Spolek přátel mládeže a družstva Milíčův dům, Praha 1992 *Faltusová, Magdaléna: Milíčův dům Přemysla Pittra na pražském předměstí – příklad česko-německo-židovského soužití (part in English), NPMK, Praha 2008, *Lajsková, Lenka and collective: Jsem Jehuda Bacon. Holocaust a poválečná doba očima izraelského malíře českého původu (English summary), NPMK, Praha 2017,


References


External links


Archive of P. Pitter and O. Fierz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitter, Premysl 1895 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Czech philosophers Czech Esperantists Czech Protestants Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Kindertransport Czech Righteous Among the Nations Writers from Prague Czechoslovak emigrants to Germany Czechoslovak emigrants to Switzerland