Jiří Palatý

* 1928

  • “Docent Fischer thus normally lived with us, he was registered in our house, and he was receiving ration stamps even at this time, so it did work. We called him Mr. teacher; of course we knew that he was to be addressed as Mr. Hybšman, but we called him teacher, since he really was a teacher. He was a leading personality in the Committee of the Petition ‘We Remain Faithful‘ (Věrni Zůstaneme) which was based on the declaration of president Beneš that we would remain faithful. He was working on a program of postwar development of our country. Unfortunately, the organization Věrni Zůstaneme soon became tracked by the Gestapo. The Gestapo eventually got to us, which was a terrible tragedy, because the person who had informed upon us lived close to our home.”

  • “Unfortunately, they already knew about all of this, and in 1943 they came for my mom; again, it was early in the morning. They arrested her, obviously, because they were already certain what was going on. Unfortunately, they arrested my father as well. Father was already an older gentleman and he got involved in an argument with them because of Masaryk. They were deriding the picture of Masaryk on dad’s desk and this eventually led to dad’s arrest. Unfortunately, the hardships of the concentration camp destroyed him soon after; he died in Buchenwald at the end of January 1944.”

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    V bytě u pamětníka, 24.09.2014

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The Gestapo arrested my father when he started arguing with them about Masaryk

pamet_007.jpg (historic)
Jiří Palatý
photo: Dobové - archív pamětníka, současné - sběračka

Jiří Palatý was born August 11, 1928 in Prague-Braník. His father was a supporter of the Social Democratic Party, and for this reason, the family provided accommodation in their home for the well-known social democratic politician doc. Josef Fischer during the Protectorate era. He stayed with them for several months in 1941 under a cover name Hybšman. Unfortunately, since he was one of the members of the Committee of the Petition ‘We Remain Faithful‘ (Věrni Zůstaneme), the Gestapo took an interest in him soon after and he was arrested. Jiří helped to warn other members of the resistance movement. His mother and father were arrested in another wave of arrests in 1943. Jiří’s mother returned to the family after the war, but his father has not survived the hardships of the concentration camp. Jiří studied chemistry after the war and he taught at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.