Zdeňka Pokorná (6 April 1905 – 3 March 2007) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

teacher and patriot. She was hailed on her 90th birthday as the "living conscience of the century" by the Czech Government. She opposed the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupations of her homeland and following the

1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état In late February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d'état. It marked the beginning of four decades of the party's rule in t ...

she was forced into exile to the United Kingdom, where she lived the rest of her life.

Biography

Born in

Břeclav Břeclav (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Located at the Czech-Austrian state border and near the Czech–Slovak state border, it is an important railway hub. Administrative divis ...

in 1905, Pokorná was a member of the anti-Nazi

Czech Resistance Movement Czechoslovak 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 deterr ...

who, following the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, helped a group of people to escape to Yugoslavia. Shortly after she was arrested 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 ...

, probably as a result of information from an informer, and was sentenced to life imprisonment spending the rest of the war in various prisons and surviving a

Death March A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

in 1945.Zdeňka Pokorná in ''The Heart of Europe''- (2009) pg 16
/ref> Expelled from her position as headmistress in Břeclav after the

because of her anti-Soviet stance, she avoided impending arrest by escaping to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Her political activities 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 ...

gained her the right to asylum in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where she retrained as a psychiatric nurse, and from here she continued both her anti-communist campaigning and her work for Czechoslovak expatriate organisations including the Association of Czechoslovak Legionaries. Pokorná was awarded the Czechoslovak Order of Merit (First Class) by 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 ...

for her outstanding work for her home country and for upholding the ideals of freedom. For the remainder of her life Pokorná lived in the United Kingdom but never relinquished her Czech nationality. Zdeňka Pokorná died in London in 2007 aged 101 and was cremated at

Honor Oak Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the London Borough of Lewisham, with part in the London Borough of Southwark. It is named after the oak tree on One Tree Hill that Elizabeth I is reputed to have picnicked under. Overview One ...

Crematorium following which her ashes were buried in the Czechoslovak section of

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

.Zdenka Pokorna - obituary
in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' 23 March 2007Zdenka Pokorna
on the

website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokorna, Zdenka 1905 births 2007 deaths People from Břeclav Czechoslovak emigrants to the United Kingdom Czechoslovak democracy activists Czech resistance members Czech women centenarians Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Czech schoolteachers Nurses from London