Karel Kutlvašr

Karel Kutlvašr (born January 27, 1895 in Michalovice u Havlíčkova Brodu , † October 2, 1961 in Prague ) was a Czechoslovak soldier, legionnaire , army general in Czechoslovakia , as well as a leading member of the resistance group Obrana národa a personality of the resistance 1939-1945 against the National socialism . He commanded the armed units of the rebels during the Prague May uprising in 1945 and accepted the surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945.

Life and military career

Kutlvašr attended a business school in Havlíčkův Brod (until 1945 Německý Brod, German Deutschbrod) from 1909–1911 and then worked in Humpolec ; In 1913, however, he emigrated to the Ukraine and worked in a mechanical engineering company in Kiev . When the war broke out, Kutlvašr was one of the first to join the volunteer unit of the Česká družina (about the Czech Guard), which later became the Czechoslovak legions . He took part in a number of battles, including the Battle of Zborów , and was promoted several times, in February 1919 to lieutenant colonel and commanded a regiment. While still in Russia, he met his future wife, Jelizaveta Jakowlewa.

After his return to Czechoslovakia in 1920 he served as regiment and brigade commander in Budweis and Chomutov from 1920 to 1931 and took part in various military training courses. In 1928 Kutlvašr was appointed brigadier general. From 1934, as the commander of a division in Hradec Králové , he developed new concepts for securing the state border and put various options for action in the event of a military raid on the country up for discussion; He was particularly committed to the expansion of the defenses in northeastern Bohemia and in September and October 1938 he was the commander of border region 35 in Vamberk . Kutlvašr was a staunch opponent of giving in and advocated military resistance in the event of an opposing operation against Czechoslovakia.

After the occupation of Czechoslovakia by German troops in March 1939, Kutlvašr had to leave the army and worked in the magistrate of Prague until he retired in March 1941. Very early on he made contact with the Obrana národa resistance group , which was recruited from members of the army. As a result of the wave of arrests in 1940 he lost contact, but in 1944 he was again active in the group. He worked in particular with Lieutenant Colonel František Bürger-Bartoš and Brigadier General František Slunečko and their resistance groups Bartoš and Alex , who supported him militarily in the fighting during the Prague uprising. Slunečko appointed Kutlvašr military commander of Greater Prague at the end of April 1945. Kutlvašr led all actions after the outbreak of the uprising on May 5, 1945. As the highest military representative, he accepted the surrender on May 8, 1945 after the conclusion of the armistice negotiations from the German city commander of Prague, General Rudolf Toussaint .

However, this sealed the end of his military career as well as some other Czech co-signers of the surrender. The agreement with the Wehrmacht also included the free withdrawal of German troops (around 500,000 soldiers) to Pilsen into captivity by the American army and withdrawn them from the reach of the Red Army (only General Toussaint and some high-ranking officers were extradited to Prague). Under pressure from the Soviet authorities, he was first given a forced leave of absence on August 1, 1945, and from February 1946 was transferred to less important posts in Brno and Pilsen. He was promoted to division general in October 1947. After the February revolution in 1948, Kutlvašr was released from the army, arrested in December 1948 and sentenced to life imprisonment for high treason in a show trial on May 16, 1949 as the alleged main figure in a resistance group against the communist regime. He spent his imprisonment in the Mírov prison and in the Leopoldov prison , where the German Wehrmacht general Toussaint was also held.

Karel Kutlvašr was released from prison due to an amnesty in 1960 and worked as a night watchman. He died on October 2, 1961 as a result of imprisonment. During the Prague Spring 1968 the accusation of high treason was declared null and void, but a full rehabilitation of his person did not take place until after 1989, when he was among other things appointed Army General in memoriam .

Awards

In selection:

• 1919 Order of the Falcon (Czechoslovakia)
• 1919 Croix de guerre
• 1921 Czechoslovak War Cross 1914–1918
• 1921 Czechoslovak Revolution Medal
• 1921 Médaille interallié de la victoire
• ? Czechoslovak War Cross 1939
• 1992 Milan Rastislav Štefánik Order (Řád Milana Rastislava Štefánika)
• 2017 Order of the White Lion 1st class

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Slavný rodák Karel Kutlvašr , curriculum vitae on the Michalovice municipality portal, online at: obecmichalovice.cz/
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Kutlvašr Karel . In: Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939–1945 . Publication of the Historical Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, AVIS, Prague 2005, p. 168, online (archived) at: vojenskaakademiehranice.ic.cz / ...
3. ↑ Bürger (Bartoš) František , detailed curriculum vitae in: Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939–1945 , publication of the Historical Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, AVIS, Prague 2005, p. 39, online (archived) at: vojenskaakademiehranice.ic.cz/ ...
4. ↑ Slunečko František, detailed curriculum vitae in: Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939–1945 , publication of the Historical Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, AVIS, Prague 2005, p. 262, online (archived) at: vojenskaakademiehranice.ic.cz / ...
5. ↑ Martin Čáp, Jindřich Marek: Hrdinové z barikád: Kapitulace pro generála Kutlvašra , broadcast of the Český rozhlas radio station on 22. April 2015, online (copy) at: dvojka.rozhlas.cz / ...