PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) - Czech WWII fighter ace Gen. Frantisek Fajtl, who fought against Nazi Germany in the French and British air forces died Wednesday, an official said. He was 94.
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry, Andrej Cirtek, said Fajtl died Monday in Prague's military hospital from complications related to his age.
Fajtl, who was born Aug. 20, 1912, fled Czechoslovakia, which was occupied by Nazi troops, in 1939.
He joined France's air force, and after the country capitulated, he fled to Britain to join the Royal Air Force.
His plane was shot down over northern France in May, 1942. Fajtl escaped to Spain, where he was captured and arrested. He was released after London intervened and returned to Britain.
He then left the RAF in 1944 to help build the Czechoslovakian fighter squadron in the Soviet Union.
But back at home, he was arrested as an enemy of state by the Communist regime in 1950, and spent 17 months in prison. After he was released, he was given only menial jobs.
His reputation was fully rehabilitated after the 1989 collapse of the communist regime, and in 2004 he was awarded the highest Czech order, the White Lion order.
No funeral arrangements had been announced.
Source:
The Star Online
October 5th, 2006, 02:30 PM
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