Václav Morávek (8 August 1904 – 21 March 1942) 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 Repub ...

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and national hero, one of the best known personalities of the Czech antinazi rezistance and a member of the famous resistance group called the ''

Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...

''. He is also the protagonist in the Czech TV series ''

'', inspired by his group. He was a

pistol shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms suc ...

champion of the Czechoslovak Army (his personal motto during

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 ...

is widely known: "''I believe in God and in my pistols''"), and commanded an Artillery battery in

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

with the rank of

Staff Captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

during the

first Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslo ...

Demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, he worked as a clerk at the Labour Office in Kolín. In summer 1939, he participated in the founding of the

Obrana národa Obrana národa (ON) (English: ''Defence of the Nation'') was a Czech resistance organization that fought against the German occupation from 1939 to 1945. It opposed Nazi rule in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The group was founded by Ge ...

(Defense of the Nation), a resistance group made up of former Czechoslovak soldiers. Morávek was (together with Josef Mašín and

Josef Balabán Josef Balabán (5 June 1894 – 3 October 1941) was a Czechoslovak soldier known for his involvement in the resistance movement against Nazi Germany during World War II. Life Balabán born in Obora gamekeeper's lodge in Dobříš. During Wor ...

) a member of a group whose main tasks were keeping in contact with Paul Thümmel (considered to be the most important Czechoslovak agent within the Nazi apparatus, his codename was A-54), maintaining radio connections with the London-based

Czechoslovak Government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia ( cz, Prozatímní vláda Československa, sk, Dočasná vláda Československa), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechos ...

and

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

. The trio was later nicknamed ''Three Kings'' (in Czech ''Tři králové''). Morávek was known for his foolhardy nature and daring actions. Among the most famous are his repeated personal

colportage Colportage is the distribution of publications, books, and religious tracts by carriers called "colporteurs" or "colporters". The term does not necessarily refer to religious book peddling. Etymology From French , where the term is an altera ...

of illegal press to the Prague

Gestapo The (), 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 Prussia into one orga ...

office and his deliberate face-to-face meeting with Oskar Fleischer (who at that time headed a special Gestapo team that was hunting the ''Three Kings''), which Morávek subsequently described in a detailed letter sent to Fleischer's superior. Once, when returning from

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

with explosives in his luggage, he was checked by a German policeman at Prague railway station - when asked, Morávek cold-bloodedly responded that "''what may look like some explosives to you, are in fact ordinary sonds for centrifuges''" and was let to go.KAŠPAR Lukáš: ''Václav Morávek'' article in Reflex magazine 46/2005
/ref> The most visible sabotage operations carried out by the ''Three Kings'' were two bomb attacks in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

: one in January 1941 against the Ministry of Air Travel and police headquarters; and second, in the Berlin-Anhalt rail station next month, intended to kill

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

(whose train was unexpectedly delayed). In April and May 1941 respectively, Balabán and Mašín were arrested, but Morávek eluded capture for another ten months. He died in a gunfight with agents of the

while he tried to help his colleague Václav Řehák, whom the Gestapo had arrested shortly beforehand. On 8 May 2005, he was posthumously promoted to brigadier general.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moravek, Vaclav 1904 births 1942 deaths People from Kolín Czechoslovak soldiers Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II Czech Protestants Czech resistance members Czech generals Failed assassins of Heinrich Himmler Recipients of the Milan Rastislav Stefanik Order Recipients of the Order of the White Lion