Out Distance
Encyclopedia
Out Distance was a Czech resistance
group during World War II
, operating in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
(part of occupied Czechoslovakia
).
plane. Their plan had involved the sabotage of gasworks in Prague
, providing radio-sets to other resistance fighters, and navigating bombers to the Škoda Works
in Pilsen.
Due to a navigation error, the parachutists did not land where they had planned, and having lost a significant amount of material, the group members decided to split and operate on their own. One member, Ivan Kolařík, committed suicide on 1 April 1942 after he was revealed, in order to protect his family members against reprisals.
First Lieutenant Adolf Opálka
, and Karel Čurda
went to Prague and joined Operation Anthropoid
, a group preparing to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich
. The assassination was successful, but Čurda revealed information that led to the finding of the hiding place of the assassins (Prague's Church of St. Cyril and St. Methodious) by the Gestapo
. Following a fierce battle around the church, Opálka and others were killed in combat or committed suicide rather than be caught.
After the war, Čurda was captured and hanged
for treason
at Pankrác Prison
on 29 April 1947.
Czech resistance to Nazi occupation
Czech resistance to German Nazi occupation during World War II is a scarcely documented subject, by and large a result of little formal resistance and an effective German policy that deterred acts of resistance or annihilated organizations of resistance...
group during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, operating in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
(part of occupied Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
).
Operations
At 2AM on 28 March 1942, the group parachuted from a British HalifaxHandley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
plane. Their plan had involved the sabotage of gasworks in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, providing radio-sets to other resistance fighters, and navigating bombers to the Škoda Works
Škoda Works
Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...
in Pilsen.
Due to a navigation error, the parachutists did not land where they had planned, and having lost a significant amount of material, the group members decided to split and operate on their own. One member, Ivan Kolařík, committed suicide on 1 April 1942 after he was revealed, in order to protect his family members against reprisals.
First Lieutenant Adolf Opálka
Adolf Opálka
First Lieutenant Adolf Opálka was a Czechoslovak soldier. He was a member of the Czech sabotage group Out Distance, a World War II anti-Nazi resistance group, and a participant in Operation Anthropoid, the successful mission to kill Reinhard Heydrich.Opálka was born into a middle-class family in...
, and Karel Čurda
Karel Curda
Karel Čurda was a Czech World War II soldier from the Czechoslovak army in exile. He was parachuted into the protectorate in 1941 as a member of the sabotage group Out Distance...
went to Prague and joined Operation Anthropoid
Operation Anthropoid
Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the targeted killing of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the...
, a group preparing to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
. The assassination was successful, but Čurda revealed information that led to the finding of the hiding place of the assassins (Prague's Church of St. Cyril and St. Methodious) by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. Following a fierce battle around the church, Opálka and others were killed in combat or committed suicide rather than be caught.
After the war, Čurda was captured and hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
at Pankrác Prison
Pankrác Prison
Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison , is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic...
on 29 April 1947.