Spomienky Jozefa Dřímala.

Memoirs of Jozef Dřímal, a witness to two world wars

Autor: BALCOVÁ Milena

BALCOVÁ, Milena: Spomienky Jozefa Dřímala. 

BALCOVÁ, Milena: Memoirs of Jozef Dřímal, a witness to two world wars.

Vojenská história, 4, 16, 2012, pp 62-68.

 The study deals with the almost incredible destiny of Jozef Dřímal, a Czechoslovak patriot and PoW. His life spanned two world wars and five state formations, though he never changed his permanent place of residence. His unique military and life experiences were immortalized in his three books, which were donated to the Institute of Military History in Bratislava as a contribution to its archive. The autobiography is the source for this paper. Jozef Dřímal lived in Bratislava, his wife was of Slovak origin (Anna, neé Štefániková). He raised his kids as if they had been of Slovak origin, and he listed them as persons of Slovak nationality during the statistical survey of the population. In 1914, when he fought under the Serbian flag, he acquired Serbian (Yugoslavian) citizenship and maintained friendly relations with the Yugoslavian Embassy. Following the outbreak of WWII and the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Jozef Dřímal joined the antiNazi resistance movement. He led the first independent resistance organization in Bratislava under the designation of “The Defence of the Nation Bratislava City”. He organized secret meetings, participated in running intelligence operations and in transporting weapons to the Czechoslovak Army abroad, he aided resistance fighters in crossing the Protectorate borders, arranged for counterfeited passports, travel permits and visas.

Key words: Military history. Czechoslovakia. Jozef Dřímal. Personalities – WWI and WWII.

Ročník: 16 | Číslo: 4/2012 | Stránky: 62-68