I don't know why I check the Telegraph obituary page so carefully each day, perhaps it is intimations of mortality, or maybe because you do 'meet' some interesting people! Today, for example, I 'met' the late Herr Richard Wadani, an Austrian man who was conscripted into the Wehrmacht during WWII. As a young but convinced communist he was never too keen to serve a Fascist government led by Adolph Hitler! Finally, in 1944, he took his chance and defected to the allies. He crawled towards an American infantry position at night but found all the soldiers asleep! Eventually, he succeeded and was posted to a Czech unit in the British army. He returned to his homeland after the war but following the Russian suppression of the Czech Spring, he resigned from the communist party.
An interesting life and an interesting man.
"He returned to his homeland after the war but following the Russian suppression of the Czech Spring, he resigned from the communist party."
It took tanks in the streets for him to quit the communist party. I guess Hungary 1956 didn't bother him. I saw Prague not long after The Event. Buildings were still riddled with bullet holes and divots from tank shells. It makes an impression.
Posted by: Whitewall | Wednesday, 20 May 2020 at 14:07