Czechoslovak WWII paratroopers honoured in “living” linden tree memorial
František Moravec, Jan Kubiš, Adolf Opálka and Jaroslav Krátky are well-known names to Czechs. They are paratroopers, who escaped to Great Britain where they were trained by the RAF and parachuted into occupied Czechoslovakia to fight the Nazis in WWII. Now they are linked by a very special memorial – an alley of linden trees in the Vysočina region, south-east of Prague.
The names of these famous Czech heroes appear not only in history books, but on streets, squares and bronze plaques around the country. A more recent, living memorial to their heroic deeds is the Alley of Czechoslovak Paratroopers where each of these brave men is commemorated by a newly planted linden tree.
The tree alley was created over the past two years along a local road linking the village of Střížov and Vladislav in the Vysocina region, where two of these heroes - paratroopers Jan Kubiš and Jaroslav Krátky - lived before the outbreak of WWII. Today the road is lined by 89 linden trees. Each bears the name of one Czechoslovak hero who stood up against the Nazi occupation during the Second World War. The names include Jan Kubiš, Adolf Opálka, Josef Gabčík, Frantisek Široký, Frantisek Pospíšil and others. Tomáš Sláma, from the Czechoslovak Veterans Association, which initiated the project explains:
“The alley was established as a memorial site in honour of Jaroslav Krátký, a native of Střížov, and his comrades-in-arms, whom the Czechoslovak government-in-exile sent from Great Britain to the occupied homeland. Forty-four of these men did not live to see the end of the war. Jan Kubiš and Jaroslav Krátký knew each other from their birthplace and according to the locals they must have walked down this dusty road to the railway station in Vladislav when leaving for exile.”
The planting of the trees took place in several stages. The “unveiling” of the alley took place last year, but work on it continues and more trees are being added.
Each tree has an information plaque with the name, parachute group, date of birth and death of the respective paratrooper. Tomáš Sláma says he hopes the alley will attract many visitors in the years to come.
“The alley is intended as a place of education and remembrance for future generations. Each tree is dedicated to a specific person, to their life and legacy. A QR code will soon be added to the nameplate by each linden tree, making it possible to access more information about the individual paratroopers.”
The site near Střížov was not chosen by chance. Eight paratroopers were born in the nearby area. Two parachute groups were dropped here and several others operated in the region. This has led military veterans to prepare a hiking trail dedicated to the memory of Czechoslovak paratroopers which was opened in April of this year. Along the route, visitors can see the birth houses of some of the WWII heroes and the trail also leads down Alley of Czechoslovak Paratroopers.
On VE Day many people come to the site to honour the men who laid down their lives for the country and to remember their brave deeds. Captain Lubor Pokorný is a soldier in active service.
“This endeavor is really close to my heart because I was a paratrooper for 20 years. And I am involved in providing care and support for war veterans. Actually I have roots here too –my grandfather came from Heřmanice which is close-by and he knew paratrooper Adolf Opálka (head of Out Distance and participant in Operation Anthropoid).”
The remembrance trail is open all year to hikers and cyclists.
