Jiří (Rys) Lukšíček

Jiří Lukšíček was born August 16, 1933 in Prague. In 1945 he joined Junák, (the Czech scouting organization), and he was active in the troop No. 100 and later in No. 145. After 1949, when the gradual disbandment of Junák began, Jiří Lukšíček - Rys became a member of a scouting resistance group. Their illegal activities focused mainly on distribution of anti-state pamphlets and minor sabotage actions. The members possessed weapons, which however were used primarily for moral support and as trophies. Jiří Lukšíček was arrested for the first time in March 1953 and detained for two months. He was lucky that investigators did not find the weapons and that they only investigated him because of a less serious case. In 1953-54 Rys was doing his military service in the 61st section of Auxiliary Technical Battalions near Rumburk. Because of his record of imprisonment he was regarded politically unsuitable for any other kind of military service. He was arrested again during his military service, as the investigators eventually found the weapons and related the resistance group's activities to other fabricated cases. Rys was subsequently sentenced to six years of imprisonment, during which he was forced to work in the camps Nikolaj, and later Rovnost, where he also met other scouts. After his release in 1960 he found a job as a worker in the ČKD factory, and later he completed an industrial school and began teaching in ČKD. In 1968 he restored the 233rd troop within the 34th scout group Ostříž. He then tried to lead the group in spite of the subsequent ban on Junák, which came at the beginning of 1970. In the same year he was forbidden to work with the youth. After the Velvet Revolution he restored the group and also became a very active official in the restored Junák. Among other he served as a member of the Conciliation Board. Even now he still attends various meetings and is involved in scouting life.

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