Betrayal
On April 22, 1941, Josef Balabán was supposed to meet with representatives of the resistance organization of the former army sergeants, called "Prstýnkáři" at the intersection of present-day Evropská Street and Studentská Street in Prague. Instead of the resistance fighters, the whole place was surrounded by the Gestapo. Josef Balabán was a leading figure of the intelligence-sabotage group "Three Kings," whose actions had been driving the German secret police mad for a long time. The Gestapo managed to infiltrate the Prstýnkáři with their informer Antonín Nerada, who disclosed the meeting place. Josef Balabán knew what he could expect in the event of an arrest and therefore he resisted until the last moment. There was a quick but fierce firefight in which he was wounded. He eventually succumbed to the numerical superiority of the Gestapo and was arrested. After he had been taken to the Petschek (Pečkův) Palace, he was immediately subjected to brutal interrogations. He was able to stand the torture and didn't expose his friends. He even managed to misinform the Gestapo. On October 3, 1941, he was executed in Prague-Ruzyně.
Hodnocení
Abyste mohli hodnotit musíte se přihlásit!
Trasy
Příběh není součastí žádné trasy.
Komentáře
Josef Balabán
Josef Balabán was born on June 5, 1894, in the village of Obory in the family of a gamekeeper. During the First World War, he fought in the Czechoslovak legions in Russia. He participated in the famous battle at Lipjag. After returning home, he became a member of the Czechoslovak army. In 1936, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed head of the personal group MNO. After the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia by Nazi Germany, he joined the resistance organization Defense of the Nation and became a member of the narrower senior leadership. He was in charge of the organization of the intelligence network and formed an intelligence-sabotage group called the "Three Kings." Together with Colonel Josef Mašín and Staff Captain Václav Morávek, they engaged in several sabotage operations and maintained contacts with the Czechoslovak exile representation. The highlight of their activities became the bombings in Berlin of the German Air Ministry and the police headquarters. They also unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Heinrich Himmler. On April 22, 1941, Josef Balabán was arrested by the Gestapo and after months of torture, he was executed on October 3, 1941, in Prague-Ruzyně. The other members of the Three Kings were killed as well – Josef Mašín was captured and executed, Václav Morávek was killed in a shootout with the Gestapo. In May 2005, Josef Balabán was posthumously promoted to the rank of major general.
