Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2014: 177-179

The Devil's Captain: Veteran-Patriot Jan PondyNonreviewed - Other

Lieutenant-colonel Pondy was one of many pre-war army officers who joined the anti-Nazi resistance movement. The Germans announced the price on his head. To avoid the arrest, he preferred to flee across the border. He served in France, Great Britain, and the USSR. As a commander of the 3rd independent brigade he took part in fights in Slovakia and Moravia. After the war he became, among others, the commander of school for reserve officers. After communist coup d'etat in February 1948 he was dismissed from the army and degraded. Again, the arrest was imminent, so he emigrated to Great Britain. He was awarded dozens of Czechoslovak and foreign decorations and medals. In 2014 the Czech Minister of Defence presented him another high award, the State Defence Cross, in memoriam.

Keywords: German occupation, resistance movement, arrest, emigration, fights, communist coup d'état, degradation, decoration, medals, State Defence Cross of the Minister

Published: September 15, 2014  Show citation