Interviewer: “What did you do in France?” – “Originally I went there to study. (…) When the war broke out, there was a call for young men to join the army, and I joined in Agde in October 1939. (…) In Agde we were housed in the barracks left by the refugees from the Spanish Civil War. They were very primitive wooden barracks and not fit for the winter. One morning when we woke up, the cold mistral wind was blowing, and as the water was dripping in the bathrooms, the dentures of the elder soldiers just froze. This anecdote shows well what level of comfort we had there. (...) I could already speak some French; in Prague there was the Institute Denis, where I had been taking French classes for medical students.”
“(…) When I started at the department of neurological rehabilitation, I began focusing mainly on locomotive organs disorders and spine problems. I am still active in this field. The issues of veterans are not too important to me. Perhaps for someone they are more important. Some people revel in it, but I don’t. I still keep teaching. I am still active in my area of expertise, and I prefer to teach to young students instead. They ask for me as a teacher. If they didn’t want me - I would not be there. (…) But there are still fewer and fewer of us. It’s been sixty years since the end of the war.”
“Actually, when I look at it today, the Allies had it organized very practically. We were quite a small brigade. If they had sent us into combat like the Poles, many of us wouldn't have been left. On the other hand, they needed a unit there. Dunkerque was isolated but there was a very strong garrison, some ten thousand heavily armed men. In order to hold Dunkerque they flooded all access roads. Our tank battalion was positioned so that they would not be able to get out. As a result, they were on the defensive and we were there to ensure that they didn't get out. During the German offensive in the Ardennes at the end of 1944, they got quite far; they were glad that somebody was holding them there. It was not even position warfare. (…) We were not able to reach them and they were not able to get out.”
Interviewer: “What about antisemitism, have you experienced it?” – “Yes, I have. I even made fun of it once. In Agde there was certain lieutenant colonel Unger who was the commander of the medical service. There were naturally many Jews among the students and doctors, as they had to flee from Hitler. One day Unger said that in the medical service there had to be the same percentage of Jews as in the other branches of the army. I thought that he had gone insane, because there were many Jewish students and doctors, just like me. A week or two weeks later, colonel, or perhaps general, Langer, who was also a famous author, arrived for an inspection. (...) During a meeting I raised the question about the percentage of Jewish soldiers in the medical service, how was this ratio was to be determined and whether the Nuremberg laws also applied here. All of a sudden nobody would admit there was such a thing. I remember my question. One remembers things like this. (…) My words had a great impact, and the meeting was ´broken.´ It seemed funny to me.”
“My life motto? In the prewar times, it was one’s resistance against fascism. That’s understandable. (…) It was not only about defending us against Hitler, but also about resisting this evil which was represented by Fascism. For me, the struggle against Nazism was not only a matter for Jews. It was a crucial issue for me. To this day I detest all forms of aggressive nationalism. Another crucial thing for me is what I have been given by my university. (…) We became pioneers in the field of neurology, and for me, this is worth more than being a war veteran.”
Professor MUDr. Karel Lewit was born in 1916 in Ljubljana, but grew up in Prague. His father was a doctor who served there in a military hospital during WWI. In the spring of 1939, with only three semesters left to complete his studies at the faculty of medicine, he left Prague for France - just days before the arrival of the German army. Immediately after the outbreak of the war, in October 1939, he joined the Czechoslovak foreign army. He went through his basic training in Agde in southern France. He took part in rear-guard action in France and via Biarritz, went to Great Britain where he was assigned to the 2nd tank battalion. He fought in a reconnaissance platoon in Dunkerque. In Britain he met his future wife Iris, whom he is still married to. Karel Lewit’s parents also fled Nazism and went to France, but some of their relatives perished in concentration and extermination camps. After the war he completed his studies at the faculty of medicine, focusing on neurology - both as a researcher and lecturer. He was professionally active until the age of 95. He lived in Dobřichovice near Prague. He died in October 2014.
