Rudolf Pernický (1 July 1915, Krhová,
Valašské Meziříčí – 21 December 2005,
Prague) was a Czechoslovakian
soldier and
paratrooper. He fled Czechoslovakia after the 1939 annexation of
Bohemia and Moravia by
Nazi Germany, eventually settling in the
United Kingdom. There he worked for the
Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile and trained paratroopers being dropped into the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Later in December 1944 he was parachuted together with
rotmistr Leopold Musil into the Protectorate to support the home
Czech resistance movement (operation codename Tungsten) – unfortunately 100 km away from their original target. They both survived seven-day march through the
snow-covered terrain avoiding any contact (carrying a
radio beacon
In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction-finding equipment to find relative bearing. But instead of employing visible light, radio beacons transmit electromagnet ...
and other illegal material) and before
World War II ended they actively organized the resistance movement around
Nové Město na Moravě.
After the liberation of Czechoslovakia he joined the
Czechoslovak Army
The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: Československá armáda) was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary.
History
In the fi ...
at the general staff and graduated from the military academy. But shortly after the
communistic takeover in 1948 he was arrested and in a political trial sentenced to 20 years in prison. He got to the worst
communistic forced labour camp
A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
s (as
Příbram
Příbram (; german: Freiberg in Böhmen, ''Przibram'', or ''Pribram'', in 1939–1945 ''Pibrans'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. It is well known for its mining history, and more ...
,
Jáchymov etc.) and was amnestied as late as 1960. However till the
end of communistic regime he was still persecuted and allowed only for the manual labour employment. After that he was fully rehabilitated, given back all his honours and the rank of army
general. He was also elected as the first chairman of
Confederation of political prisoners
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...
and after his term ended he remain an honorary chairman.
On 28 October 2005 he was decorated by the
president of the Czech Republic
The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive governm ...
with the highest Czech order – the
Order of the White Lion, 1st class. As being seriously ill (he passed already a serious operation only a week before the ceremony) this was his last public appearance, he died few weeks later on 21 December, on the 61st anniversary of the air-landing to his country.
External links
Radio Prague: Anti-Nazi resistance hero, Rudolf Pernicky, dies aged 90Photo of Rudolf Pernický from the 28. October 2005 awarding ceremony at the Prague castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pernicky, Rudolf
1915 births
2005 deaths
People from Valašské Meziříčí
Czech generals
Czechoslovak soldiers
Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II
Recipients of the Order of the White Lion
Recipients of the Milan Rastislav Stefanik Order