The man who knew too much

Gendarme sergeant Karel Kněz, from Vrbatův Kostelec, was a co-founder and member of Čenda, the Pardubice-based resistance group. Thanks to him, the Libuše radio station operated the entire spring of 1942. “He made sure that radio operator, Jiří Potůček, could transmit in peace. Potůček would always transmit at night, between 10 p and 5 am; my grandfather went to the only access road to the transmitter and guarded it. It was also thanks to him that Potůček was rated as number 1 among all radio operators dropped in the Protectorate in terms of the number of messages sent,” recalls granddaughter Alena Mergl Kučerová. The Gestapo started to close in on Čenda and Ležáky in the spring of 1942. The Libuše radio left the Ležáky valley following a warning on June 18, the same day that the Gestapo found the hiding place of Heydrich’s assassins in the Orthodox Cyril and Methodius Church in Prague. Massive arrests and executions ensued, including in the Pardubice area. Ležáky-based miller and resistance member J. Švanda was arrested on June 23. Karel Kněz knew that he or his family members might not withstand the cruel interrogations, and he decided to act. “At night, he bid his wife farewell and looked at his sons – Karel and Jaroslav, my daddy. He went to Habroveč to the Doležals, his friends, and told them he would have to shoot himself to prevent being discovered, as he was in for heavy interrogations and this was a more likely way to protect his family and collaborators. He also asked them to help his wife and children when he is gone,” remembers his granddaughter Alena Mergl Kučerová. Karel Kněz shot himself on June 22 1942.