Both a Scout and a walker

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Jiří Frank was born August 4, 1938 in Holešov into a mixed marriage of Nikolaus Frank from Lindenhau (*1914 in Lipová near Cheb) and Helena, née Patrnková (*1908) from Holešov. His parents met during father’s military service in Kroměříž where Jiří’s mother had worked as a maid. Although his father didn’t know any Czech and mother any German, they married in 1937 and lived together in Holešov for a short period of time. Before Germany took over Sudetenland, Jiří’s mother had followed her husband to his motherland together with her two-months-old baby. After the war had been declared, his father enlisted as a Wehrmacht soldier. He advanced through the Eastern front and was taken captive during a retreat in Austria. Because of certain disagreements with grandparents, Jiří’s mother and Jiří moved to Kozolupy near Plzeň during the war, where they lived until father’s return in 1947. After he had been repatriated, Jiří’s father acquired Czechoslovak citizenship. After a short time living in Plzeň they returned to Holešov for good in 1950 and that’s where Jiří’s younger brother Miroslav was later born. Following the example of his father, Jiří trained to be a cabinetmaker in Bystřice pod Hostýnem and got his first job in the TON company in Holešov. He got married during his military service and raised a son and a daughter with his wife. In 1970 he passed the Scout leadership tests and also became a tourist instructor for the Czechoslovak Union of Physical Education and Sport. Shortly before the ban of the Scout movement, Jiří had led a Scout Group which he then transferred under the Youth Tourist Group one year later. He was noticed by the State Security for this – was asked for questioning and they kept a file on him. He was punished in his professional life as well. Because he had not passed the screening in 1972 due to political reasons, he was advised to resign from his position in the Dřevopodnik company in Holešov. He only managed to get a job at the OZS company by lucky chance. He has led different youth groups (TOM, Jiskra and the tourist group Zálesák) with short breaks from the 1970s and returned to Scouting immediately after the regime had fallen. He led the Cub Scouts in Holešov in the first years after the Velvet Revolution. He partook in the creation and organization of many events for children. He was awarded the Scout Thanks badge in 1994 and was also honored by the Holešov city.