The following notes are to assist readers to have some understanding as to the background of why this hijacking took place:
In October 1938 Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia
following the signing of the Munich Agreement that September. A few
Czechoslovaks managed to leave the country prior to this happening, or
during the early days of the occupation, and made their way to Poland,
some joining the Polish military forces, and others going to other
countries. After World War 2 was declared, on 3 September 1939 and a few
days later Poland fell to the invading German military, many of these
Czechoslovaks were able to make their way to France and when France fell
those who were able to went to England. Here some joined the Royal Air
Force and the majority served in the Czechoslovak Fighter Squadrons of
310, 312, or 313. Many others served in 311 Squadron which was a Bomber
and later Coastal Command Squadron. By 8 May
1945, when the war in Europe had ended, approximately 2500 Czechoslovaks had served in the RAF and just
over 500 had made the ultimate sacrifice.
Czechoslovakia had been liberated by the
Russians but the Czechoslovak RAF personnel were unable to return to
their homeland till August 1945 due to 'technical reasons' and 'difficulties; claimed
by these new occupiers. When they did return, some continued their Military Service
careers and remained in the Czechoslovak Air Force while others, once demobilised, returned to civilian
life. During the wartime years there had been no Czechoslovak national
airline [ČSA] in operation post war and there was a urgent need for trained
flying and maintenance personnel - a natural new employment for many of
the former RAF personnel. Thus many resumed their aviation careers as they
started to rebuild their lives in their post war homeland.
Sadly things were going to change very soon
as the Russian 'liberators' were ensuring that their Communist ideology
was their to stay. This led to the Communists taking power in a coup
d'état in February 1948. Under this new regime those who had served their country by
fighting in the West with the RAF or British Army were considered to be
tainted with Western capitalist ideology and seen as undesirable citizens
in the new regime. Some were soon arrested and imprisoned, demoted to
menial low paid work or executed - some more information is here.
Others were kept under observation by the StB - the Czechoslovak Secret
Service - and gradually they were arrested, detained, imprisoned or
killed. Just expressing pro Western comments was sufficient reason to be
visited by the StB and this, in many cases, would lead to some form of
detention and other penalties. It could have been a vindictive work
colleague, malicious 'friend' or grievous family member who contacted the
StB about your alleged tainted Western view - you never knew who could be
trusted.
Many of the Czechoslovak ex-RAF and ex-Army
made the choice to leave and go into exile again. In numerous cases this
also meant wives, girlfriends and children going as well. Trying to
smuggle yourself across the Western Czechoslovak border to Austria or
Germany was a common route - some were successful, but many were not and
ended tragically. Other ways to cross this border were often sought. By
1950 some ex-RAF aircrew were still flying domestic flights for the
Czechoslovak national airline [ČSA] - they had already been banned
from undertaking international flights. Some chose to use an aeroplane as
a means to escape - this is the story of one such attempt.
Hopefully the above background will give the
reader some insight as to the motivation for this escape.
Contrary to the stories circulating after this
escape, it was not planned the afternoon before it took place; it had in
fact involved many months of careful and cautious planning.
But now to the actual story of this escape.
In the early Spring of 1950 the event filled both the press and the radio. The news about the escape of three Czechoslovak airliners to the American airbase in Erding, near Munich stirred the world at both sides of the "burnt through" Iron Curtain and the case intensified the Cold war between the East and West overnight. Three Dakota aircraft landed in the morning of 24 March near Munich instead of at Prague.The first one OK-WDR, from Brno, at 08:18, the second one, OK-WAR, from Moravská Ostrava at 08:50 and the third one, OK-WDS, from Bratislava at 09:30. Two thirds of the people on board were involuntary passengers who came back to Czechoslovakia later. That's why the Czechoslovak communists made the flight to freedom the "Kidnap to Erding". The book, the play and the film, bearing the same name soon celebrated the kidnapped returnees as heroes who had not let themselves be wheedled neither by capitalist opulence nor their promises. The non returnees who asked for political asylum in the American zone of West Germany were, on the other hand proclaimed criminals and the Prague regime asked very vigorously for their extradition - but this was in vain.
24 March 1950: instead of Prague, the three Dakota's of Czechoslovak Airlines headed for Erding a American Air Force base near Munich.
This had been pre-arranged between the pilots prior to taking off from Ostrava, Brno and Bratislava.
Prague also presented the case as a kidnap since by a mere accident there was a county communist deputation, invited to the castle by President Gottwald, on board the Ostrava plane. The Czechoslovak communists did not boast much about the fact that the new manager of Czechoslovak Airlines, sleeping off his last night conference booze-up in Hotel Pasáž was also one of the "kidnapped". They also did not mention that the Dakota's were hi-jacked although they were watched by StB agents. According to a later rumour, they were all, the managers included, rewarded with Jáchymov.
But the watchfulness of the government authorities meant that the plotters, former RAF pilots had to be careful when planning the operation. It was the worlds first triple hijack which set an example for many later hijacks - some of them of a terrorist nature.
There were 85 people on board the three Dakota's altogether. In March 1950, an interesting article on their escape from communist Czechoslovakia was published in Air Revue, the newsletter for the American servicemen based at the Erding airbase. Another two similar articles came out on 1 April 1950 in the Stars and Stripes, the publication for American forces in West Germany. Die Münchner Neue Illusierte also covered the escape on 8 April 1950 in German. Their article was followed by three sketches and a little map which is reprinted on this page.
The plane from Brno was full to capacity. Thirty one people, including the crew, took off with no delay at 06:35. The crew consisted of the Captain Josef Klesnil, ex 311 Sqd RAF - who returned, pilot Vit Angetter, ex 312 Sqd RAF - stayed out, radio operator/navigator Karel Mráz, also stayed out, the flight engineer - Tuček, a communist- returned, the air hostess Lída Škorpíková stayed out. As far as I remember among the passengers were: Angetter's wife Eva, nicknamed Carmen, travelling under her maiden name Veselá, Miroslav Hanzlíček, Bedřich Suldovský, JUDr. Arnim Racek , Marie Jiravova [whose husband Kamil had already escaped and was in the refugee camp at Valka at that time], her son Milan and brother in law Vilém Jirava , and my humble self. All of these stayed out of the country.
On the Brno plane Lída went to the pilots cabin to divert pilot Klesnil so he would not notice as Mráz brandished his gun at engineer Tuček. Mráz and Angetter tied him and put him among "the luggage". Then Angetter came to Klesnil who understood at once.
Flt/Lt. Vit Angetter.
Flt. Lt. Vit Angetter, who is now living in Arizona, U.S.A., recollects now. He remembers all the details even after 33 years. In his letter from 9 May 1983 he wrote:
Klesnil was also one of the former RAF pilots, we were goods friends and that's why I did not have to take out my gun at him. We said that originally since he was coming back and we wanted to make the communist interrogation a bit easier for him. I ordered him to put all the blame on Angetter. So how did it actually happen?
It was me who was flying after take off and before Havlíčkuv Brod . I switched off the automatic pilot and headed for Munich. Klesnil said: "What the hell are you doing?" I said "Josef, you remember what I told you the other day? That we would fly off to the West!" He almost burst into tears. "Oh, you morons, we have been organising it with Procházka as well!" He saw it was serious and too late. But he reconciled himself to it. A few months later Klesnil, with his family, successfully escaped from Czechoslovakia on foot across the Šumava mountains and later he flew for British European Airways in England. He died in London in 1975.
None of the pilots knew the people who flew with us as passengers. It was all organised in Brno and in Bratislava by Hanzlíček, an employee of Czechoslovak Airlines. As far as I know the greatest thanks for booking seats the belonged to Lída Škorpíkova who finally, as well as we did, fled with just her uniform on. We were lucky that nothing had been revealed and we made it. We had been planning the escape for more than two months. It was not organised over a cup of coffee as an American newspaper in West Germany described it. Members of the Communist Party who returned, were not brave: they threw out and hid party badges. Some of them were amazed at how many fighter planes the Russians had at Ruzyně - they did not recognise that they were in West Germany and they mistook the colour of the Stars on the planes in the Erding airbase.
This was from Vit Angetter.
The author of our report Dr Miloš Vitek, in 1950, He managed to escape on board the Brno airplane.
But let's continue with the report of Dr Miloš Vítek:
The whole action in the cabin took 5 minutes, I think there was Hluboká already below us, then Kleč, České Budějovice and snow covered Šumava. The silver stars on American aircraft and the sign saying FAST LANDING seemed to welcome us during our descent and landing at 08:18. The password "Way to Freedom" announced as our identification. We were lucky that there was not any weapon frisking in Brno. Mráz and Angetter smuggled their guns through without problems.
It had to look suspicious to the new bus guard at Hotel Central to see such an uncommonly large crowd with so many pieces of luggage. He had relocated to Brno recently after he worked in London. Angetter was easy going - he was whistling on the bus.
I sat next to the snoring airlines manager on the plane. He was known to fly with a gun and that is why well informed Hanzlíček sat behind him. The comrade boss woke up for a moment, looked out of the window and then his watch. He managed to say only a few words - that we should have been in Prague already and then fell asleep again. He did not pull out his revolver until he saw the American planes in Erding. "Treason!" he shouted and ran to the cockpit which Mráz, following the advise from the Americans had already locked.
Flt/Lt. Ladislav Světlík.
The plane from Moravská Ostrava had 23 people on board. Eight seats were free. It took off at the same time as the Dakota from Brno - at 06:37. The Captain - the first pilot was Ladislav Světlík, ex 312 Sqd RAF, stayed out. The co-pilot Mečislav Kozák, ex 311 Sqd RAF - returned, the radio operator/navigator
Brož returned, flight engineer Gejza Holoda ex 311 Sqd RAF also returned. I can not remember the name of the air hostess. Among the passengers were Viktor 'Poppy' Popelka, ex 310 Sqd RAF with his wife Alena who flew under her maiden name. Popelka came to Ostrava the night before the escape under the pretext of visiting his sick father who was there in hospital], Květa Doležalová, the wife of the Captain of the Bratislava plane, with her son Tomíček who was six months old - she took him under the pretext of taking him to Prague hospital. The above mentioned passengers did not return.
Captain Světlík had the most difficult job of the plotters. He got through it successfully with the help of Popelka. He handed control to Kozák and gradually disposed of Brož and Holoda with his gun and tied them up and put them among the baggage. Finally he disposed of Kozák as well. He changed direction above Pardubic, heading for Linz, and then for Erding, landing at 08:50. The deputation to see Klement Gottwald stayed perfectly calm. Most probably out of fear. Only one passenger protested when he recognised the snow covered Šumava hills below. That was all that Světlik told me later in the refugee camp in Hanau where we were sent later.
Flt/Lt. Oldřich Doležal.
The plane from Bratislava was also full. There were 31 people, including the crew, on board. It took off at 07:30 instead of at 07:00. The Captain was Oldřich Doležal ex 311 Sqd, the co pilot Bořivoj Šmíd ex 310 Sqd, radio operator/navigator Stanislav Šácha ex 311 Sqd. - all former RAF officers, and the flight engineer Jano Kralovenský . They remained in Germany. The air hostess Eva Vysloužilová also did not return. Among the passengers were Šácha wife Dagmar, probably expecting, JUDr, Jaroslav Bízek with his wife Marie, Helena Polívková, Anna Dohakská - the widow of Zdeněk Bořku-Dohalském who was executed by the Nazi's in Terezín, and Anna Vrzánova the mother of world figure skating champion Áji. All these people remained in Germany.
Doležal called his flight as a "nerve racking" one at that time. The departure was delayed because of the unusual amount of luggage which overloaded the plane by 750Kg. That is the reason why the Captain only requested 1200 litres, instead of 1800 litres, of fuel. Then there was the alarming phone call concerning Dohakská and Vrzánova. The delay seemed to be more critical as by this time the other two planes had stopped sending messages to the control tower before Doležal's took off . Both Kralovenský and Šácha decided to use their smuggled guns in case of discovery by the authorities and StB interference.
Doležal changed course above Břeclav and so as not to arouse suspicion he reported an undercarriage fault before entering the Soviet zone, which would prevent him from a stop over at Brno. A critical hour of flying over Austria, through the Soviet zone into Linz came immediately after that. In case of Russian fighter interference, Angetter had previously asked the Erding air-base Commander for American protection of the Bratislava aircraft.
So from Linz Doležal's Dakota flew escorted by American fighter planes and landed at Erding at 09:20. According to Doležal the flight itself was quite peaceful mainly thanks to a group of Slovaks who refreshed themselves with smoked sausages and slivovice.
The three Čzechoslovak Dakota's at American airbase at Erding.
Šmid came back to the RAF in England and died during an air show in London. Kralovenský fell a victim of his own reckless behaviour in Munich.
Out of the 85 participants 58 people returned and 27 of us
remained at Erding. The plotters were tried, in absentia, and sentenced to
death, the non-returning passengers were sentenced to 25 years
imprisonment.
Above some copies of the
documents from the trial held at the District Court in Prague 2 in July 1950.
Justification for the accusations and verdicts
was because of the kidnapping and endangering the lives of those who
returned and by phrases about high treason, so common for the Prague
regime of the 50's.
Film director Ján Kadár and liberalist Elmar
Klos were put to the making
of the film 'Únosu do Erdingu' ('The Kidnap to Erding') in which we were portrayed as
criminals. [The Hollywood Film Academy did not mind, or perhaps was not
informed about Kadár's involvement in this film and awarded the film maker
an Oscar for another of his pieces "A Shop on the Promenade" which is
otherwise a brilliant film. They did not mind his part either when they
asked him to lecture on film art in Los Angeles after 1968. He died there
in 1979]
Excerpt from Únosu do Erdingu.
As the U.S.A. refused to extradite us to communist Czechoslovakia, the
incident had long diplomatic consequences. The number of attaché's were
restricted both in Washington and Prague. It was the period of the
escalation of the Cold War. Communist transmitters and Radio Free Europe
against them continuously worked full time.
The time can be characterised
by a Prague trail of thirteen anti communists. Headed by Dr Miladou
Horáková four of them were sentenced to death. The editorial was published
in New York on 26 March 1950 and the former Czechoslovak Ambassador, to
the U.S.A., Dr Jaraj Slávik [already an exile at that time] reacted by
prompt answer addressed to the New York Times editor on 28 March 1950.
The Erding case also helped later, during Senate debates, on reforms of the
Act on accepting refugees as Displaced Persons into the U.S.A. That's why
I quote the Dr Slávik letter in its original English version:
To the Editor of the New York Times:
Your editorial entitled "Emergency Landing" in the 26 March issue of
The Times is a suggestive presentation of the story of the three
Czechoslovak transport planes which landed near Munich. I do not think
this was a "melodramatic incident". Neither do I consider hopelessly
confusing the decision of two-thirds of the persons involved who, "
displayed an eagerness to get back to Czechoslovakia". It should be born
in mind that the majority of the people on board the planes were
necessarily Communists or irremediably compromised servants of the regime.
Others not knowing in advance of the escape plan, unprepared and with
their families left behind, were confronted with an impossible choice.
Their decision should
not obscure the fine courage displayed by those who planned and carried
out the escape. They all had to reckon with the not negligible possibility
of failure, capture and - very likely - death. What should however mainly
concern the free world hearing of this feat of courage and despair is:
What prospects are facing those who have stayed? A long empty life in
German camps without the slightest hope to be admitted to some free
country is in store for them. Hence, this seems to me to be the really
hopelessly confusing fact: that those who wage the battles of democracy
against communism in the underground of the countries behind the Iron
Curtain are struggling against unconquerable odds; that facing a ruthless
opponent bent on their annihilation, they fight with their backs against
the impenetrable wall exclusion placed in their rear by an indifferent
world. This situation cannot be borne indefinitely. Shall the wall give
away? The D.P. Bill just discussed before the United States Senate does
not promise improvement in this respect. The House provision regarding the
admission of political refugees is not included in either of the bills now
before the Senate.
Dr. Juraj Slávik,
Former Czechoslovak Ambassador to the United States Washington 28 March
1950
Some Newspaper and magazine articles published
at the time
An article published on 31 May 1950 in Lidové Noviny a national Czechoslovak newspaper.
(Translation note: within the translation below there are several references like [par. 335 tr.z.] these are references to the relevant paragraph of Czechoslovak criminal law [trestní zákon]
AIR PIRATES MUST BE EXTRADITED
Protest note sent to the American Embassy in Prague
31 May 1950
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Čzechoslovak Republic handed,
on 20 May 1950, to the US Embassy in Prague in connection with the arrival
of 3 Čzechoslovak airplanes at a US Army airfield in Germany. Two notes
were handed over. The 1st note said that the arrival of 3 Čzechoslovak
aeroplanes, on scheduled flights, from Brno, Ostrava and Bratislava to
Prague was sabotaged by a terrorist group. The premeditated and arranged
action of flying over the state borders committed a criminal act qualified
by currently enforced ČSR criminal law and equally to the laws of other
civilised countries.
Two crew members from the 1st above mentioned airplanes were Vít Angetter
and Karel Mráz, both former members of the RAF. At gunpoint, they forced
the pilot to change the flight route. When the pilot hesitated they forced
him from his seat and tied him up. In the same way they dealt with the
other two crew members. They committed offences threatening the safety of
the lives of the crew and passengers [paragraph 335], unauthorised
restriction to their freedom [par. 92. tr.z] and acting in a dangerous and
threatening manner [par. 99, tr.z]. In addition to this, they also
committed the offence of the kidnapping of Čzechoslovak citizens to a
foreign country [par. 90 tr.z] in respect of some members of the crew and
the passengers, with the exception of a few accomplices, they all
committed criminal offences. As this happened on a Čzechoslovak aircraft,
this offence was committed under the jurisdiction of the Čzechoslovak
Socialist Republic.
In both other cases the members of the saboteur group proceeded in a
similar manner as they committed the same crime. On the aircraft from
Ostrava – Prague, members of the crew Captain Světlik and airline employee
Viktor Popelka, both former members of the RAF, forced the pilot to change
the aircraft's flight course. When he resolutely refused to follow their
orders, they tied him up and with the help of the autopilot they changed
the flight course to a US airbase in Germany. Then they tied up the
mechanic and radio operator who where the other two crew members,. They
committed a criminal offence according to Čzechoslovak criminal law
whereby they endangered the lives of the crew and passengers [par. 355,
tr.z], unlawful kidnapping [par. 93, tr.z]. Dangerous and threatening
behaviour [par. 99 tr.z] and the kidnapping of Čzechoslovak citizens and
taking them over the state border [par. 90 tr.z], and these offences
include the crew and all passengers on the plane excluding one person who
was in league with the saboteurs.
In the 3rd aircraft, flying from Bratislava to Prague, members of the crew
Oldřich Doležal, Bořivoj Šmid, Stanislav Šách and Jan Královanský
committed their pre arranged criminal act, which are qualified by criminal
law, of the criminal offences of endangering the safety of passengers
[par. 335 tr.z] and kidnapping by force [par. 90 tr.z], except for those
two who were in league with the hijackers. Also as both these cases
happened on a Čzechoslovak aeroplane they were committed on Čzechoslovak
sovereign territory. The above mentioned facts were corroborated by the
victims who where witnesses. These are the facts of the criminal case and
are qualified by current Čzechoslovak law as criminal acts.
As these offences were committed in Čzechoslovak aeroplanes which
represents Čzechoslovak territory, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs applied
to the US Embassy that Vít Angetter, Karel Mráz, Ladislav Světlik, Viktor
Popelka, Oldřich Dolezal, Bořivoj Šmíd, Stanislav Šácha and Jan
Královanský would be handed to the Čzechoslovak authorities as common
criminals for criminal prosecution.
Since this article was written, the following information about the aircrew involved in this escape is known:
Stanislav Šácha died in California, USA on 2 January 1986 and Kamil Mráz very likely in Pensylvania, USA. O. Doležal celebrated his 71st birthday on 1 March 1983. He was awarded DFC for sinking German ship "Alsterluf" in the Bay of Biscay. He died in in England. in November 1983. Marcel Ludikar was in his crew at that time and Zdeněk Hanuš, the navigator. was also awarded the DFC and died in Australia in November 1982. Let's sum up for the forgetful readers: Jan Královanský died in Munich, Victor Popelka died in England on 13 March 1971, Bořivoj Šmíd died in a air accident in England on 29 May 1951, Ladislav Světlík died in New Zealand in July 2008 and Vit Angetter died in Arizona, USA on 24 October 2009.
Additional information on this escape
Links:
United States Department of State bulletin
[volume 22 April - June 1950]
Notes 594 to 598 on pages 18 to 19
in English:
From the Erding USAF magazine 'Around the Air Base' article
of 26 March 1950
From Die Münchner.
The original 1983 Kanadske listy article - part 1.
The original 1983 Kanadske listy article - part 2.
New York Times article 31 March 1950.
