Foresters and smugglers

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After the communist coup, many people who were uncomfortable for the regime were bent on emigration. However, it wasn’t possible to emigrate legally. Therefore, people would cross the border illegally. In doing so, they were often helped by the local residents of the border areas. One of the helpers was Josef Mikoláš and his father, both merchants from Hluboká nearby Kdyně. Although they weren’t part of a major smugglers’ network, they helped 10 acquaintances and people who had been recommended to them to get to Germany. They were helped by the foresters from the gamekeeper’s cabin in Orlovice, who knew the border forests very well. In the end, the group was revealed by an agent provocateur of the secret police.

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Josef Mikoláš

Josef Mikoláš was born on 30 August, 1929, in Hluboká nearby Kdyně. His father ran a convenience store in the village and Josef became a merchant as well. After 1948, father and son helped 10 people to cross the border and flee to the West. Their group became the victim of an agent provocateur called Markus and on 13 November, 1948, the members of the group were arrested. Ahead of the trial, for months they were held in custody in Klatovy and Prague. The trial took place on 7 July, 1949. For complicity in the crime of an unauthorized leaving of the territory of Czechoslovakia, Josef was sentenced to six months of prison, which he had already served on remand. His father was sentenced to 18 months in prison and jailed in Vykmanov nearby Ostrov. In October 1951, Josef enrolled in the auxiliary technical battalions (PTP ) and till November 1953, he worked in the “Mír” (Peace) mines in Karviná. After completing his military service, he worked in a slaughterhouse in Janovice nad Úhlavou, then as an accountant at a slaughterhouse in Domažlice. By the time he retired in 1991, he was the chief planning officer in a meat-processing company in Klatovy.

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Orlovice

Available in: English | Česky

The small village is part of the municipality of Pocinovice. It lies near the border and is surrounded by forests. Thus it represented the ideal starting point for escapes across the Iron Curtain. The foresters from the Orlovická lodge knew the frontier forests very well and their knowledge was used for the benefit of smuggling runaways to Germany after February 1948. They cooperated in this with the residents of Hluboká u Kdyně, such as Josef Mikoláš.

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Foresters and smugglers

Josef Mikoláš