Rudolf Daňo

* 1923

  • "Those Germans didn't even intend to attack, but when they encountered resistance, there was a gunfight. And that's when my friend Lojza Trochta fell. Although the Germans got through our line, our reinforcements were behind us. They were so resentful, especially Jan Trochta, Lojza's brother, after the Germans had shot him, so in their agitation they shot down all the Germans. Gunfights ensued and the German unit got shot to pieces. It was difficult to take any prisoners, it was impossible."

  • "There were people from Prlov in our unit. Jan Turýn was from Prlov and Janko's parents were burned alive. He was with the partisans. As a little boy he didn't blame himself for the fact that his parents had burned to death... He was more angry, and when he would come across Germans, he would take his anger out on them – they would never come out alive. No one is to be blamed. But maybe some individuals would say, if you had not done those things, some might still be alive. That is possible. Human thoughts are not all the same. Some think this way, some another way. It is possible that some people would say that if the partisans had not been active, then those people would have lived. It was such a tragic time. Once it got going, it could not be stopped..."

  • “Soviet advisers expected that pressure would come from the outside, meaning from Germany or Austria. But it looked like it was the other way around and the pressure from within aimed at others was greater. Practically speaking, there were roadblocks along the border, but as soon as you managed to cross those roadblocks, it was only a hundred meters to reach Germany or Austria. So it was very easy. Those roadblocks were built for a different purpose than what they were supposed to do, so it wasn't that advantageous."

  • Celé nahrávky
  • 1

    Olomouc, 08.07.2021

    (audio)
    délka: 02:21:47
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of the region - Central Moravia
  • 2

    Olomouc, 23.10.2021

    (audio)
    délka: 55:54
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of the region - Central Moravia
  • 3

    Olomouc, 07.06.2023

    (audio)
    délka: 18:13
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of the region - Central Moravia
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Once it got going, it couldn‘t be stopped

Rudolf Daňo in 2021
Rudolf Daňo in 2021
zdroj: Post Bellum

Rudolf Daňo was born on August 13, 1923 in Horní Lideč in Wallachia. He lived on a modest farm with his mother Františka, born Františáková, father Josef, and three siblings. His father made a living as a mason, as well as being a stove-maker. At the age of 22, Rudolf joined the partisans and spent the last months of the Second World War with members of the Prlov unit under the leadership of Tomáš Polčák (known as Beneš). After the war, he went to the school of the National Security Corps in Vítkovice in Ostrava and underwent basic training. After completing a radiotelegraphy course, he started working in Český Těšín, Frýdek-Místek and was later transferred to Opava. Later on, as a company commander, he trained basic military service soldiers to become border guards in Kremnica, Slovakia. For twelve years, he worked for the Border Guard Unit in Znojmo. His name can be found in the State Securiy (StB) registration protocol in the category of agent and confidant. Since 1966, he was part of the Czechoslovak People’s Army. Between 1968 and 1970, he worked briefly at the headquarters of the Border Guard Unit in Prague. He ended his career as deputy head of the Regional Military Administration in Frýdek-Místek as a podpolkovnik (lieutenant colonel). At the time of the Velvet Revolution, he held the position of secretary of the district committee of the Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters. In 2021, he lived in Olomouc in Klášterní Hradisko in the Military Hospital.