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Introduction

The first half of the Czechoslovak 20th century, with its twists and turns, affected the lives of tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. Given the events of the time, this is particularly striking for members of the armed forces. The Czechoslovak soldier, intelligence officer, resistance fighter and political prisoner of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the post-war member of the Ministry of the Interior, František Fárek, were firmly among the men whose life reflected all the turning points of the first half of the 20th century.

In a way, he is not a completely unknown person. Two years after his death in 1975, he became more widely known with a publication called Traces Disappearing in the Archive, in which, as a former officer, he recalls his career in military intelligence and the espionage cases of the time. This is not the only work describing Fárek’s dramatic life. Based on the said book, a television production of The Daubner Bank House was filmed in 1988, describing an ingenious news event from Fárek’s workshop.

The publications Traces Disappearing in the Archive are not the only evidence of military intelligence from Fárek’s pen. During the 1960s, he captured his memories of that turbulent time for his family in detail in hitherto unpublished materials. Although these sources are in a way subjective, they are the only possible source of information for us in cases where the official source base is absent. The mentioned personal sources thus became one of the bases for writing the following text.

Youth and World War I.

František Fárek was born on August 10, 1894 in Lipník nad Bečvou into the family of the butler František Fárek and his wife Jana. He attended primary school in his hometown and also in 1906 he joined the Czech high school.1

He graduated from high school in the first year of the world conflict. It was certain that the war would affect his young life. In June of the following year he joined the Austro-Hungarian army as a so-called one-year volunteer to the Czech Infantry Regiment 57 (KK Infanterieregiment Nr. 57). In February 1916, after graduating from the school for officer waiters and a continuing course in Opava and Olomouc, he was expelled as an aspirant cadet, and then trench battles awaited him on the Carinthian front. After the war, he recalled one of his first deployments: “In February 1916, our marching battalion rode in cattle wagons to the Italian front. I got a platoon and soon suffered my first injury. The Italian sniper tried his hand at me and immobilized me with a clean blow to my right leg. This happened at Freikofel in Carinthia.

In June of the same year, however, he suffered another and more serious injury, the consequences of which he basically struggled for the rest of his life. He also returned to this moment after the war: “Suddenly, on the other side, the Italians flashed and the characteristic crackling of mortars echoed overhead. I threw myself on the ground. I woke up from it to the dock. I couldn’t feel the left side of my body. My head rumbled, a shard of mine struck me above my left ear. It is said that there was almost nothing left of the bachelor who stood behind me. ”3

Subsequently, he stayed in hospital until July 16. From May 1917 to October 1917 he underwent a strike course and a special combat course, and basically until the establishment of an independent republic in October 1918 he served on the Italian front in various ranks and functions (from platoon leader, aide battalion commander and company commander) Battalion 94 (KK Sturmbataillon Nr. 94) .4

Establishment of a free republic

The end of the war and the revolutionary days of František Fárek caught during his vacation in his hometown

1 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military personal files, Military personal file of František Fárek, Curriculum vitae.

2 FAREK, Frantisek. Documents for a Million (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 9.

3 FÁREK, ref. 2, s. 9.

4 VÚA-VHA, Sb. Qualification documents, Qualification document of František Fárek, Application; VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military personal files, František Fárek’s military personal file, Questionnaire for officers and sergeants – Place for biography; Original qualification certificate – Part 1.

Lipník nad Bečvou. As he later recalled, his vacation was to end on October 20, 1918, but the then crew commander in Lipník, Slovenian Col. Prašnikar, was apparently well informed about the beginning of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and willingly complied with Fárek’s request

about its extension.5

Lieutenant Fárek enlisted in the new Czechoslovak army at the end of October 1918. He first served in the guard company in Lipník nad Bečvou in May 1919. However, the establishment of a free state did not go smoothly. The young republic was essentially threatened by its neighbors from the very beginning. A particularly critical situation prevailed in the areas of southern Slovakia, where Fárek volunteered in the summer of 1919. In the rank of lieutenant, he was assigned to the 67th Infantry Regiment (later the 14th Infantry Regiment), with which he participated in battles against the Hungarians at Tornaľ, Plešivec and Rožňava. Although he earned the War Cross of 1919 with division praise for his participation in the fighting, he had to spend the next three quarters of the year in various hospitals, first in Ružomberok, Slovakia, and then in Olomouc. Because he was in convalescence and unable to serve in ordinary service, began to hold the position of rapporteur of the Standing Disciplinary Committee in Olomouc. František Fárek began discussing the applications of former Austro-Hungarian officers here for the Czechoslovak army. In Olomouc, in a way, for the first time ever, he came across the issue of military intelligence, a field that was to influence his career until his departure from active service. After completing his convalescence in 1921, he returned to Slovakia, where he began service with the 14th Infantry Regiment in Košice.6 which was to influence his career until his departure from active service. After completing his convalescence in 1921, he returned to Slovakia, where he began service with the 14th Infantry Regiment in Košice.6 which was to influence his career until his departure from active service. After completing his convalescence in 1921, he returned to Slovakia, where he began service with the 14th Infantry Regiment in Košice.6

Military correspondent in Slovakia

Even at the time of Fárek’s return to Slovakia, the international situation was not the best for our young state. Hungary did not accept the post-war territorial changes, and Czechoslovakia saw it as a major danger throughout the 1920s. Because the nature of Fárek’s injuries did not allow him full service, he first served as commander of the 14th Infantry Regiment, then as an arms officer, and finally became a Category I intelligence officer – a reporter in charge of a portion of the state border.7

In the October mobilization of 1921, against the efforts of the Habsburgs to return to the Hungarian throne, his regiment took up position south of Košice, while the regiment’s headquarters were stationed in the village of Barca near the city. As an intelligence officer, František Fárek spent most of his time exploring the border. Many years after World War II, he generally stated about intelligence activities in eastern Slovakia: “At that time, none of us had the appropriate experience or practice in this special field, and our intelligence methodology and technology might not be able to stand up to criticism from experts today. But we did it the way we could, and we didn’t lack courage or goodwill. We had a good friendship and helped each other as best we could, and the situation demanded it. ”8

Thanks to Fárek’s memories, we can also look into the issue of material equipment of the then intelligence bodies. Specifically, the 2nd (intelligence) department of the 11th Infantry Division, which included Fárek’s regiment, was not initially equipped with any means of transport. All its members had to use bicycles or simply hiking to travel to the border and to meet with agents outside the city. There were no major problems in the summer, but especially in the winter a long train connection had to be used

5 FAREK, Frantisek. From the history of our intelligence service (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 10.

6 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Qualification documents, Qualification document of František Fárek, Qualification document – Original.

7 FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 11–12; VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Qualification documents, František Fárek qualification certificate, Qualification document – Original.

8 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 11–12.

and then on foot. In really urgent cases, a motorcycle was sometimes borrowed from the author, or the car was provided by the division commander. This was not an exceptional phenomenon. The intelligence departments of the other divisions were not much better off. The situation with the division improved only after the arrival of a new commander, General Josef Šnajdárek.9

In August 1925, the 11th Infantry Division began to be subject to the newly established Provincial Military Headquarters (ZVV) in Košice, whose commander was also appointed the current commander of the 11th Infantry Division Gen. Šnejdárek. The head of the newly established 2nd Department at the Košice ZVV became the later important head of the intelligence headquarters in Prague, Lt. Col. gšt. Šimon Drgáč and, in Fárek’s opinion, gained considerable credit for the organizational and technical equipment of the 2nd ZVV department. In addition, he should have had a relatively lucky hand in choosing his co-workers.10 Drgáč later acted just as well at the news headquarters in Prague.11

He remained at the headquarters of the 11th Infantry Division Fárek until the autumn of 1928. After that he was called to the ZVV in Košice as the head of the search service of the 2nd Department. On November 1, 1927, Lt. Col. gšt. Šimon Drgáč left as head of the 2nd Department of ZVV in Prague and his successor in Košice became Maj. gšt. Antonín Hvížďálek and after him Lt. Col. gšt. Jan Třebický.12

A major turning point in Fárek’s career occurred in 1929. In October of that year, he was transferred directly to the 2nd Department of HŠ in Prague. Fárek should have guessed the assignment to Prague from the time of the August visit to the advantages of search group B of the 2nd Department of the HŠ Col. Mojmír Soukup in Košice. As he later recalled, calling the capital was an honor for him, but there were mixed feelings. In almost ten years of operation, he merged with Košice, so to speak, and had the opportunity to get to know the Hungarian opponent perfectly. At a time when he could make full use of his experience and knowledge, he had to leave his well-known intelligence field against his Hungarian opponent. After entering Prague, Fárek, thanks to his experience, took over the Hungarian department of the intelligence section P-1 of search group B of the 2nd Department of the Primary School under the leadership of Maj. gšt. František Dastich. But a drastic change was to come in the near future.13

At the 2nd department of the primary school in Prague

When we outlined the beginnings of military intelligence in the 1920s in eastern Slovakia, it is also necessary to mention the situation at the highest level of the intelligence hierarchy, as František Fárek recalled after the war: “until 1930, only one older intelligence department owned the car with the driver and the marginal components were only emergency equipped. It did not have a photographic laboratory or a chemical one, and one silicon lamp for examining various fals or secret inks, and several common reagents for developing sympathetic inks. ”14

Fárek came to the department at a turning point, which was soon to affect his intelligence activities. After the conclusion of the Rhine Guarantee Pact in October 1925, the borders in Western Europe stabilized, but not the borders with Germany’s eastern neighbors. Just

9 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 21 a 69.

10 During the Drgáč era, for example, a then unknown lieutenant joined the intelligence department. Tomáš Houška (1896–1939), who after graduating from the War University a few years later became the head of the German section of the Study and Planning Group A of the 2nd Department of the Primary School. VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Qualification documents, Qualification certificate of Tomáš Houška, Qualification certificate – Part I.

11 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 79.

12 Tamže, ref. 5, s. 82.

13 FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 93, 97; VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Qualification documents, František Fárek qualification document, Qualification document – Original and Authorized guided interviews with František Fárek from 1968 (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 5.

14 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 127.

15 STRAKA, Karel. Reconstruction of the Czechoslovak agency network and their results from 1933–1939. Intelligence headquarters. Prague MoD CR, 2017, pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-80-7278-709-8.

this situation created ideal conditions for the convergence of the security interests of Poland and Czechoslovakia, and it was cooperation in the field of intelligence that has made the most progress.15

In the spring of 1930, Františkek Fárek registered frequent visits of the Polish intelligence expert Maj. Jerzy Krzymowski at his superior, Col. Soukupa. Interestingly, Krzymowski was not spared from Soukup’s frequent hobbies of giving people in the area various nicknames, and soon a Polish officer at the ward was known as Pšoncek. At that time, Soukup himself had already made several visits to Poland, where he was introduced to a certain novelty for the Czechoslovak side – Polish advanced agency exchanges on the border with Germany. Here it is necessary to keep in mind that this was a relative novelty for the Czechoslovak side. The former 2nd department of the primary school was, for organizational and financial reasons, controlled considerably centrally.16

The possible adoption of the Polish model was seriously discussed by Col. Soukup with Maj. Dastichem and it is indisputable that both officers laid the foundations for the construction of advanced exchanges outside the Prague headquarters. The actual decentralization of intelligence activities eventually took place through intelligence support points in border areas. In the beginning, only two were created. The first figured as a group against Lusatia with a location in Liberec, where the management of Soukup checked on Captain František Fárek, and the second as a group against Saxony with a station in Litoměřice. In principle, these were the future standard Advanced Agency Exchanges (PAU) of the 2nd Department of the HŠ.17

Due to his new destination, František Fárek made a several-week study trip to Germany, during which he had to notice everything that could be useful for him in his next task, such as how to obtain railway tickets, passenger transport tariffs, passport and customs control, ticket control. platforms and on the train, types of hotels, boarding houses, formalities for renting rooms and filling in registration tickets, how long it takes for passengers to report to the police and what attention foreigners enjoy in Germany.18

Liberec itself was chosen for several reasons. Apart from the proximity of the state border, the presence of the police directorate and gendarmerie department also played a role here. Due to secrecy, Fárek moved in the city under the cover of the identity of insurance officer František Steiner. However, Liberec became a rather symbolic seat, a certain refuge, because it was constantly in motion within the scope of service.19

The case of Franz Dobianer’s bank house

It was Fárek’s work in Liberec that is connected with one ingenious intelligence event of Czechoslovak intelligence.20 As usual, the birth of this intelligence company was essentially a coincidence. At the end of 1931, Capt. Fárek was alerted to the Reich German, who often traveled to the city with a briefcase full of documents. After a fake appearance at the police, Fárek also got acquainted with the contents of his luggage – with the German Germans’ applications for money loans. He testified that he was a financial broker of a certain Dobianer, which provides loans to persons in Germany.21

16 FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 118–119; STRAKA, ref. 17, p. 35 .; GEBHART, Jan. Notes on Czechoslovak-Polish intelligence contacts until March 15, 1939. In Slezský sborník, 1996, vol. 94 (52), No 1, p. 34.

17 STRAKA, ref. 17, s. 35–36; FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 120–122.

18 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 123.

19 Authorized controlled interviews with František Fárek from 1968 (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 10–11 and FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 141–143.

20 In his publication Footprints Disappearing in the Archive, the mentioned intelligence event is not mentioned only by František Fárek. And

In a highly fictionalized form, it also got into the memoir work of the then head of the search group B of the 2nd Department – MORAVEC, František. A spy they didn’t trust. Prague: Rozmluvy Alexandru Tomského, 1990, pp. 77–78 and over time and in the same form to non-fiction, eg HOLUB, Ota. Trumps of Commissioner Geissler. Ústí nad Labem: Severočeské nakladatelství, 1988, pp. 108–115.

21 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 159.

The aforementioned Franz Dobianer22 worked in Liberec as a businessman with a temporary residence permit. It was even known that he had illegally got his girlfriend to Czechoslovakia. Fárka was fascinated by this man, and although he did not yet have a clear idea of the possible use, he decided to meet him. As he stated after the war, Dobianer figured out what it was all about, and himself, probably also due to his rather fragile position vis-à-vis the Czechoslovak authorities, offered himself as useful. It was by guessing among the applicants for the Dobianer loan that the Czechoslovak correspondents were to acquire their collaborators in Germany in the near future.23

Fárek’s superior, Col. Soukup and Maj. gšt. Dastich welcomed this opportunity. In April 1931, Dobianer moved to Podmokel. He procured a car and at the same time bought a representative villa in Gartenstrasse in Děčín, where his private banking plant – the so-called Deutsche Kreditververtung – started operating. At the same time, he had advertisements in the Reich’s German magazines offering loans on favorable terms. In a short time, hundreds of letters began to arrive through Berlin intermediaries… .24

František Fárek sorted the applications and logically he was mainly interested in a loan from the circle of state administration employees and the armed forces. These were given separately and the rest were handled according to Dobianer’s usual habits. The final recruitment took place individually. The owner of the bank was waiting for the loan applicant together with the intelligence officer. The final phase itself varied, depending on the situation and nature of the individual. Sometimes an offer of by-earnings was enough, sometimes small and at first glance innocent efforts were required.25 It should be noted that the Czechoslovak side had a certain psychological advantage in the negotiations, because those interested in the loan were determined to do virtually everything under the pressure of the situation. Of the important agents that managed to get those recruited, for example, the head of the German Grenzkomisariat (passport control) at the Bruno Kurt Ulbricht common railway station in Děčín. From the beginning, he was an unconscious co-worker, when he arranged for various people and their luggage for a smooth check-in at the border for a fee.

He became a conscious collaborator only later. However, with his costly life, he soon drew attention to himself by the German secret police.26

In a similar way, the North Bohemian advanced exchange under Fárek’s management has acquired a police inspector from Leipzig, Johann Gast, and a captain from the military stud farm in the town of Militsch, Otto Dempwolf.27, 28

22 Originally a Czech German, František Dobianer was born on October 1, 1886 in Miroslav (Znojmo district). After enlisting in

During the First World War he served in the Vozatajský Division No. 2 (KK Train Division Nr. 2) and in the Ersatzabteilung der KK Kraftfahrtruppe in Vienna. In June 1917 he was superarbitrated. After the war, he left Vienna for Berlin, where he found a job in a factory for agricultural machinery, which he sold to Russia, where he stayed for a long time. Subsequently, he returned to Germany with the money he earned and began earning money by providing financial loans. Apparently, his activities were not entirely based on a legal basis, so the criminal police became interested in him. Dobianer had no choice but to take refuge in his old homeland. However, he did not resign from his financial activities and continued to carry them out, but from Czechoslovak territory under the leadership of military intelligence. After the occupation he fled to Poland, but subsequently returned to Prague. He was arrested by the Gestapo at his address in Prague in February 1940. On June 8, 1943, he was sentenced to death by the People’s Court in Berlin and executed on September 8, 1943. ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-70-6. In the Name of the German Volkes, page 52 and VÚA-VHA Praha, Sb. Tribal documents, Tribal document of Franz Dobianer.

23 FÁREK, ref. 5, p. 160; NA Prague, f. Police Headquarters Prague II – Intelligence Center at the Police Headquarters Prague (f. 200), sign. 200-69-36, Dobianer František Josef; SOKA Liberec, Residential applications (series 1900–1938), Dobianer Franz Josef.

24 FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 163, 166–167; ABS Prague, f. Report maps prepared by the study institute of the Ministry of the Interior (f. Z), sign. Z-6- 314-1 / 75–77 and SOKA Liberec, Residence applications (series 1900–1938), Dobianer Franz Josef.

25 FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 168, 177–179; ABS Prague, f. Report maps prepared by the study institute of the Ministry of the Interior (f. Z), sign. Z-6- 314-1 / 75–77.

26 FÁREK, ref. 5, pp. 186, 194–195, 202; ABS Prague, f. Report maps prepared by the study institute of the Ministry of the Interior (f. Z), sign. Z-6-314-1 / 78.

27 Under the cover of the C-2023, he provided, for example, reports on the Militsch crew and information on the organization and training of the repair squadron. VÚA-VHA Prague, f. VZ I, k. 4, Subject: Activities of the Aunt – defects, May 26, 1937.

28 ABS Prague, f. Report maps prepared by the study institute of the Ministry of the Interior (f. Z), sign. Z-6-314-1 / 79.

The system of Czechoslovak offensive intelligence has undergone a number of organizational changes in those years. The current head of the search party and Fárek’s friend Col. Mojmír Soukup was replaced in 1934 by a younger and more ambitious Lt. Col. gšt. František Moravec, with whose rapid onset the focus of the group also changed. In contrast to the earlier focus on information of the broader military-political context, a narrower and distinctly military concept began to be promoted.29

It is necessary to mention that, despite a certain animosity towards Moravec, Fárek underlined his activity in connection with the reorganization of intelligence, which significantly affected the activities of the Advance Agency Centers. According to Fárek, it was generously established, purposeful in every way and enabling the full development of the creative abilities of the authorized bodies, their intelligence techniques and methodology. It also encouraged competition between exchanges.30 The reorganization necessarily affected both the existing advanced agency exchanges and the staff themselves. After the changes, František Fárek appeared on the new and, according to him, also better staffed PAÚ in Ústí nad Labem with the code name Aunt, which was then preferred by Capt. Ludvík Novotný. At the beginning of 1936, the Ústí nad Labem exchange was to become the new center for organizing another loan event. Due to the reorganization of the German army, the tipping was to be focused primarily on members of the armed forces, railway employees, or employees of companies engaged in war production. The time to provoke action seemed more than appropriate to the Czechoslovak correspondents – in Germany there were expensive conditions and mass recruitment awaited the army. The monthly cost of the event was estimated by the rapporteurs at

3,500 CZK and a one-time investment of 500 RM.31

The seat in Ústí nad Labem was not permanent and over time, the entire exchange moved to Litoměřice for security reasons. Service in Ústí nad Labem and Litoměřice except František Fárek and the head of Capt. Ludvík Novotný was passed by other intelligence officers. The original intelligence work also continued under the changed conditions.

For security reasons, Franz Dobianer received a new identity in July 1936. Using false documents, he now acted as Josef Müller, director, b. April 4, 1894 in Brno with affiliation to Brno, apartment Prague XIX Dostálova street No. 18.32

The available materials show that in March 1937 at the latest, the German Abwehr gained some awareness of the activities of the Czechoslovak PAU on the North Bohemian border.33 His attention was not lost on both the Ústí nad Labem exchange with the places where the tipping operation took place and Franz Dobianer alias Josef Müller. It was dangerous that already at the turn of 1936 to 1937, the real identity of not only František Fárek, but also Ludvík Novotný was revealed. The Abwehr had a strong interest in these officers. For example, he led their Prague residences, car license plates, etc. In the end, the method of work of our reporters in the North Bohemian border was revealed. In addition, a large-scale arrest operation between Dobianer’s brokers was launched in Germany.34

29 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 126 a STRAKA, ref. 17, s. 49 a 243.

30 FÁREK, ref. 5, s. 259.

31 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military Intelligence Command (Sb. 37), sign. 37-382-2, Subject: Action for Acquisition of New Types – Proposal, fol. 96 and Authorized Guided Interviews with František Fárek from 1968 (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 10–13.

32 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military Intelligence Command (Sb. 37), sign. 37-382-2, Subject: Legitimate

for the house. 5037, fol. 92–93.

33 The German intrusion into the organization of North Bohemian advanced intelligence centers remains the subject of the study of available archival sources. In his memoirs, František Fárek mentioned škpt as the source of a possible leak of information. Ludvík Novotný. For more on possible revelations, see VYHLÍDAL, Milan. Franz Dobianer’s news tipping event. An example of the work of Czechoslovak intelligence before World War II. In Proceedings of the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, a number of social sciences (in press).

34 Federal Archives – Freiburg Military Archives, signed. RW / 49-627 / a, The Secret Military Intelligence Service of the

Czechoslovakia against Germany, fol. 20, 69-70, 86, 90, 91 a 97.

However, the events on the other side of the border did not escape the attention of Czechoslovak intelligence. She knew about the arrests of Dobianer’s associates. For these reasons, the connection ceased to be established under the old address and only the most promising ones were selected from about 400 tips. Head of the superior Prague Agency Search Center I Lt. Col. At the same time, Václav Kopačka set new conditions for tying the tips themselves. For security reasons, the event came under the jurisdiction of the intelligence headquarters.35

In the early summer of 1937, the Abwehr, together with the Gestapo, launched a large-scale campaign involving the general German public. In August of that year, an article was published in German magazines and newspapers entitled “Achtung: Spione am Werk. Warnung vor landesverräterischen Agentenwerbern ‘, which drew attention to questionable financial institutions dealing with intelligence recruitment. What was worse, the German press literally warned against the activities of Franz Dobianer and appealed to all those who came into contact with his company to contact the German police immediately.36

To the displeasure of Czechoslovak intelligence, he became inappropriately lively around Dobianer’s person. His further stay on the German border became dangerous and he was granted police protection immediately after the article was published. The intelligence headquarters finally decided to move it to a more anonymous Prague, where it was further used for recruitment in Germany under a new identity.37

At that time, however, František Fárek had not worked at PAÚ Teta for several months, because he was probably sent to the Prague headquarters in May 1937. After returning to the 2nd Department, he was in charge of checking all monthly bills of advanced agency exchanges in section P-1. It is interesting that František Fárek does not explain the reasons for his appeal to Prague in his extensive written memoirs. His personal materials are also silent, however, after his appeal to Prague, he did not come into contact with his own agency.38

Back to the 2nd department of HŠ

Shortly after his return to Prague, František Fárek was transferred to the position of company commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, in Prague in September 1937 for unknown reasons.39 The decision was somewhat surprising, especially given his health condition. It is certain that he was very displeased with his new classification. More details are not yet known, so we can only speculate whether the matter was due to possible tense relations with František Moravec, or whether it was an echo of the affair with the revelation of intelligence activities of Fárek’s agent Franz Dobianer. In the post-war period, Fárek’s colleague Karel Paleček partially returned to this episode: “I no longer remember the context in which his replacement was made. Farek found it very difficult, because as a long-time intelligence officer

35 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military Intelligence Command (Sb. 37), sign. 37-382-2, Subject: Typařská akce – návrh, fol. 106–107.

36 NA Prague, f. Zemský úřad Praha – Presidium zemského úřad v Praze (f. 207), sign. 207-609-63, Subject: Germany,

journalistic articles on espionage in Czechoslovakia, folios 10–11 and KOKOŠKA, Jaroslav – KOKOŠKA, Stanislav. Agent dispute

A-54. Prague: Our Army, 1994, pp. 61–62. ISBN 80-206-0437-5.

37 NA Prague, f. Ministry of the Interior I – Presidium (f. 225), sign. 225-1148-3, Article “Amtliche Warnung vor gentronter Spionage” published in the magazine “Die Zeit” of 11 August 1937, no. 187, fol. 6–7 and ABS Prague, f. Maps of reports prepared by the study institute of the Ministry of the Interior (f. Z), sign. Z-6-314-1 / 130 and VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military Intelligence Command (Sb. 37), sign. 37-382-2, Characteristics of an agent for the year 1937, fol. 97.

38 TITL, Zdenek. Reconstruction of the development of the organizational structure and personnel of the Czechoslovak military intelligence

intelligence (until 15 March 1939). Part 1 – Article. Prague: General Staff – Inspectorate of the Military Intelligence Service of the Czech Armed Forces, 1995, p. 57 and Authorized Guided Interviews with František Fárek from 1968 (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 20–21.

39 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Qualification documents, Qualification document of František Fárek, Qualification document Part II

Insert 1938.

lost contact with the unit. At the urging of the old officers, he was taken back to the ward just before the mobilization

Back to the 2nd department of HŠ with škpt. Fárek did not return until April 30, 1938, shortly before the extraordinary measures in May. Subsequently, he worked as part of a permanent emergency at the so-called O-service (wiretapping service), which was in charge of wiretapping foreign embassies in Prague. At that time, it was a temporary facility, but of a completely secret nature, which was operated by selected officers with appropriate language skills. The rapporteurs, of course, paid the greatest attention to the German representation in Prague, whose wiretapping was also recorded by a special device.41

Škpt. František Fárek and the intelligence department also underwent a mobilization in September, moving to Vyškov, when he and Capt. Alois Čáslavka is in charge of the transfer of intelligence material and the cash register. He thus experienced the tragic events of Munich at the 2nd Department of the Main Headquarters, after which the offensive activity against Nazi Germany was officially banned.42

Without the knowledge of their superiors, however, the so-called Agency Search Headquarters against Germany (APÚN) was organized at the end of 1938, but few people knew about its existence. The activities and organization of the original PAHs have also changed radically under the influence of the new conditions.43

The new Czechoslovak state entered the new year 1939 in a very uncertain atmosphere. After the activation of Slovak political circles in March 1939, the Prague government began to slowly lose control of the eastern part of its territory. As special observers, the intelligence headquarters sent several intelligence officers to Slovakia on March 6, 1939, including František Fárek. Within a few days, the situation in the east of the republic escalated and the last day of his stay in Trenčín was Capt. Fárek has already witnessed anti-Czech scenes, when typewriters and paving equipment were thrown out of the branch office of the newspaper at gross insults to Bohemia and the roar of the crowd.44

Finally, on March 13, 1939, Fárek received a radio reception from Prague with an order to return. His observation mission, the meaning of which he was not entirely convinced from the beginning, was over. Another stay in Slovakia no longer made sense. Fárek in Žilina picked up his colleague Capt. Oscar Olmer. Armed civilians with belts on their sleeves were already patrolling the streets. However, no major problems arose along the way, until they encountered a more serious obstacle in the Vlr Pass near the border. The road was guarded here by guards and gendarmes. Farek and Olmer left nothing to chance and simply ran away from the patrol.45

Occupation of the Czech lands

In the aggravated atmosphere, František Fárek reported to the 2nd Department of the Primary School on the morning of March 14, 1939. As he later said, no one cared about his paper. A member of the search group, Maj. gšt. Emil

40 ABS Prague, f. HS VKR (f. 302), sign. 302-57-2 / 67–68, Protocol written to the MNO – General Staff with Brig. gene. Karel Paleček, folios 67–68.

41 TITL, Zdenek. Reconstruction of the development of the organizational structure and personnel of the Czechoslovak military intelligence

intelligence (until 15 March 1939). Part 1 – Article. Prague: General Staff – ACR Military Intelligence Inspectorate, 1995, p. 45.

42 FAREK, Frantisek. 2nd Department of the General Staff for mobilization in September 1938. – Journey to Vyškov. – Surrender of the Czech

koslovenska. – Return to Prague. – Farewell to us. hl. no. arm. gene. I’m a tailor. – News. activity of the 2nd dept. around Munich.

– Departure of the head 2. Dept. Col. gšt. Hájka. – Col. gšt. František Moravec new head of the 2nd dept. headquarters

(unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 6

43 STRAKA, ref. 17, s. 38.

44 FAREK, Frantisek. Members of the 2nd dept. hl. staff of Maj. Bohumil Dítě, škpt. Frant. Fárek, škpt. Antonín Longa, Capt. Josef Rybář, Capt. Oskar Olmer as special observers of the March events of 1939 in Slovakia (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 10.

45 FÁREK, ref. 46, s. 11–12.

Strankmüller was only looking for another participant in the Slovak mission, Maj. Bohumil Dítět. However, he had a breakdown in his car and had to entrust it to a car repair shop in Brno. He stayed for a few hours and did not arrive at the 2nd ward until March 14 around 3 pm.46

After the war, Fárek remembered how strange the atmosphere prevailed after his return to the 2nd Department. Reporters from colleagues who were secretly selected by Moravec to go abroad generally encountered cold closure. It was not until around noon that Fárek learned from Strankmüller about the planned departure of selected intelligence officers. At the same time, he handed Fárek a passport for Maj. A child who was to be taken to the airport immediately upon his return.47

On the day President Hácha left for a meeting in Berlin, the head of the eavesdropping service, Capt. Alois Čáslavka secured the involvement of Berlin at the long-distance headquarters in Žižkov. In addition, the service intercepted telephone calls from all foreign legations and, in part, normal traffic. On

On March 15, at 0:35, we managed to record a telephone conversation with the arm. gene. Jan Syrov on the forthcoming occupation of the Czech lands. The entire headquarters was immediately alerted. At the same time, intelligence material was liquidated, including material from conspiracy sites in Prague, and extensive APS I documents were subsequently burned in Podbaba, Prague.48

At that time, it took over most of the materials arising from the activities of the military intelligence service, and future historians and researchers thus lost the opportunity to examine the issue of military intelligence before World War II. At that moment, however, it was a necessary necessity, because the first German troops appeared in Prague’s Dejvice as early as the morning of March 15. The next day, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and his entourage visited the headquarters buildings. He visited the office of the newly established Abwehrstelle and also the office of the interim head of the 2nd Department of the HŠ MNO Col. gšt. František Havel, who was delegated to office after the hasty departure of Col. gšt. František Moravec. He stayed there for a maximum of ten minutes, thanking his officers for providing offices.49

Otherwise, according to memories, despite the occupation, there was an apparent calm before the storm in the HŠ building:

“In the offices of the 2nd dept. various issues related to the occupation of Czechoslovakia were shaken, various military and police transports and bullets were followed by various plans for the future. ”Work on the department did not stop in a way. Intelligence analysts Col. gšt. Tomáš Houška and Maj. gšt. Josef Zuska50, for example, was still editing daily bulletins from the foreign press, which had been running smoothly before the Gestapo put a stop to it.51

In the anti-Nazi resistance

46 FÁREK, ref. 46, s. 12.

47 FAREK, Frantisek. Situation in the 2nd dept. Hl. staff on 14./III. 1939. – Farewell to Moravc’s group. – Departure

“Eleven” to England and what preceded it. – Col. gšt. Havel appointed head 2. – Return of Maj. Child from Slovakia (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 1–2. It is a certain interesting fact that according to Maj. gšt. Emil Strankmüller was even to consider the departure of Capt. Fárka and Longy. However, because both were covered by their activities against Hungary, they were not included in Moravc’s group. STRANKMÜLLER, Emil. Czechoslovak offensive intelligence in the years 1937 to March 15, 1939. In Resistance and Revolution, 1968, vol. 6, No. 1, p. 70.

48 FAREK, Frantisek. Hácha leaves on 14./III. to Berlin. – Eavesdropping on a Hacha-gen phone call.

Raw. – Destroy everything. – Group-1 liquidation procedure. – Problems with burning file material. – Archive ag. search center in Podbaba. – What was the case with the destruction of file archives in other ministries and offices (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 1.

49 FAREK, Frantisek. Situation in the 2nd dept. after March 15, 1939. – Admiral Canaris in the General Staff. – Colonel Longin.

– Capt. Fárek and Maj. A child at the head of the Abwehrstelle. – A member of the Abwehr wants to make a courtesy visit to Capt. Fárka. – Visit to Maj. Child. – Characteristics of members of the Abwehr and German officers (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 1-2.

50 For more on this officer, see KREISINGER, Pavel – VYHLÍDAL, Milan. The life destinies of General Josef

Zusky (1902–1978). From an artillery officer through the intelligence department of the General Staff and the Nazi prison to Egypt. Part I. In History and Military, 2015, vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 64 – 76. ISSN 0018-2583 and KREISINGER, Pavel

– He WATCHED. Milan. The lives of General Josef Zuska (1902–1978). From an artillery officer through the intelligence department of the General Staff and the Nazi prison to Egypt. II. part (completion). In History and Military, 2015, vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 90 – 99. ISSN 0018-2583.

51 FÁREK, ref. 51, s. 5.

The occupation of the Czech lands and the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia became a prerequisite for the establishment of the first resistance movements. Former intelligence officers had certain preconditions by the nature of their previous profession, and we really won’t be far from the truth when we say that within a few hours and days, the first resistance units will begin to establish themselves within the liquidated 2nd Department of Primary Schools. However, it is not without interest that their origin and functioning were often influenced by bad relations, which spilled over from the pre-occupation period.

It was to the beginnings of anti-Nazi resistance that František Fárek left a number of valuable testimonies in his memoirs. According to them, on the first day of the occupation, he met with his colleagues, staff captains Antonín Longa and Alois Čáslavka, in a café on Veletržní třída. They mutually decided that they would not follow their colleagues abroad, but that with their abilities and skills they would be much more useful at home. At the same time, František Fárek was the oldest to take over the leadership of the incipient resistance cell, 52 which in the near future was known as the Three Councils or just the Councils.53, 54

Although the Three Councilors established themselves more or less as a separate group, and it should be noted that they tried to maintain this independence throughout their existence, after Fárek decided after consultation with Longa and Čáslavka that he would try to get other suitable adepts for free cooperation in the group. The choice fell mainly on Lt. Col. gšt. Tomáš Houška, a former head of the German section of the study group and Fárek’s friend from the intelligence service in Košice. Immediately after the agreement, Houška began preparing reports on the German army for the needs of the emerging foreign resistance. The already mentioned Maj. Cooperated with him in a number of questions. gšt. Zuska.55

Ensuring a quality connection with abroad was very important. On the basis of Fárek’s order, Čáslavek contacted the exponent of the British intelligence service in Prague on 15 March, Maj. Harold Gibson. He promised to help him in arranging contacts for Col. gšt. Moravec to Great Britain, but the whole thing went lost. Also, an attempt to contact a Czechoslovak military attaché in France by post failed.56

In terms of cooperation and connection with London, the French – Col. dʼAbord and intelligence attaché Maj. Henri Gouyou. The three councilors sent a letter through them to the Czechoslovak military attaché in Paris, asking them to draw the attention of František Moravec to their activities. Subsequently, they sent another letter with similar content directly to Moravc. In response

52 In the first message from home, which Antonín Longa sent to František Moravec into exile, it stated, among other things: “… there are three of us here, who were on the 15th of the night. in the hands of taxes, we have promised ourselves that we will not abandon one another, that we will not abandon the families who are left alone, and that we will do our best to give birth to the third, as we firmly believe, happy and eternal republics. ”KREISINGER, Pavel. Brigadier General Josef Bartík. Intelligence officer and participant in the first and second Czechoslovak resistance. Prague: Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, 2011, p. 60. ISBN 978-80-87211-55-7.

53 The origin of this designation can be found in the request of František Fárek and his colleagues not to be in secret

pays are referred to by their real names. From that moment on, the London headquarters used the code name Three Consuls. It is not entirely clear who exactly invented this designation. František Fárek stated in his memoirs that the author could be Maj. gšt. Emil Strankmüller. FÁREK, František. Fárek, Long and Čáslavek retired. – First report from London. Gene. Ingr. – Gen. Elijah. – Move the eleven families beyond the borders. – Dr. Mountain from the middle row in Prague. – Fárek and Longa “Counselors”. – Caslav’s report from London. – Čáslavek’s biography. – Maj. gšt. Toscani (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 10.

54 FAREK, Frantisek. Situation in the 2nd dept. on 15./III.1939. – Arrival of the Abwehr. – Major Abwehr asks Col. Freedom

on the vacancy of offices. – Members of the Abwehr in P-1. – Establishment of a resistance group. 2nd department. – Negotiations with English voj. Attaché Gibsonem. – Visit to the French embassy. – Cooperation with franc. voj. Attaché d´Abordem and his seconded Maj. Henri Gouyou (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 4.

55 FAREK, Frantisek. Ing. Alarm clock, its activities in the 2nd Dept. hl. staff and in the resistance. – Major Child meets and agent

A-54. – Maj. gšt. Houška obtained for cooperation. – Lt. in the bay. Truníček and his activity. – Prap. Šlégr. – Strtm. Müller.

– Cesta škpt. Longy to make contact with rural news. organs. – Capt. Volevecký. – Pilots want to go abroad. – The end of the Abwehrstelle era. – Last conversation, Capt. Parish with the head of the Abwehrstelle. – The Gestapo is trying to get a cap. Farka to cooperate. – Interrogations of Capt. Fárka on his intelligence activities against Germany (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 9–10.

56 FÁREK, ref. 56, s. 5.

Moravec thanked them and confirmed their future cooperation. He also asked them to take care of the families of the fugitive intelligence officers. They soon received another consignment from London with a report on the international situation, the activities of the London intelligence group and messages for families.57 However, the cooperation began to stagnate and, according to Francis, the French share was not commensurate with Czechoslovakia’s efforts. The driver Josef Záruba was an important link with the French embassy. On behalf of Maj. Gouyou personally delivered the incoming correspondence from

The 2nd Department in London and several times also made courier trips abroad with an ambassador’s car. What was worse was that correspondence with London often lay on the embassy for several days before reaching the addressees. In addition, Fárek’s people found out that their messages were being read by someone from the embassy.58

Expulsion of intelligence officers’ families abroad

In addition to gaining intelligence, the expulsion of officers’ families became very important at that time. It was their departure to safety beyond the borders of the Protectorate that was to provide the Czechoslovak exile intelligence center with the necessary peace of mind to work against Nazi Germany. It is necessary to state that František Moravec did not arrange anything for the family members to go abroad before he went abroad. In the first months of the occupation, Moravec’s rapporteurs relied on the help of the British and French authorities, which were still operating in the Protectorate, regarding the relocation of families. But the long-awaited help from them ultimately failed. Time and at the same time naive ideas of a group of exile reporters about the situation in the Protectorate became a great enemy.

After the failure of the first attempts, Čáslavka sent a very critical message to London on May 15, 1939, informing him that he was taking care of the families. He blamed foreign reporters in full charge for prolonging the event, who he said had no idea about what was happening in the occupied homeland.59

František Fárek visited a long-time friend of the Police Council, JUDr. Jan Hora, who secured him passes abroad. After another letter from Col. Moravec from the beginning of June 1939, the councilors agreed on their own procedure for the evacuation of families. Two variants were prepared – a legal journey by train with special clauses, or an illegal crossing of the protectorate border into Poland. JUDr. However, due to possible interventions by the Gestapo, Hora insisted that the departure of the families take place without delay and as quickly as possible.60

After obtaining passports and passes, the final destination of their trip was to be French, Swiss and Italian resorts. But the whole plan collapsed after some wives literally tried to cross the protectorate on their own on June 22. The Germans, of course, returned them without a pass from the border. The matter had a very unpleasant finish, when JUDr. Fearing for fear of the Gestapo, Mount urged the immediate return of the issued passports. There was nothing left but to try to cross the border illegally. Out of fear of repression, it was decided that Alois Čáslavka would also move to Poland with his family.61 After Čáslavka and his family actually crossed the border on 27 June 1939, he provided everything he needed and families of London intelligence officers finally passed through several waves. At this point, the reporters around Col. gšt.

After the successful evacuation of families, Fárek and Longa tried to open a new communication channel

57 PROCHÁZKOVÁ, Klára. The lives of an intelligence officer and a military diplomat, Colonel Alois Čáslavka. Olomouc, FF UP in Olomouc (Master’s thesis), 2015, pp. 59–60.

58 FÁREK, ref. 56, s. 8.

59 KREISINGER, ref. 54, s. 66.

60 PROCHÁZKOVÁ, ref. 59, pp. 64–65; FÁREK, ref 55, pp. 5, 7-8.

61 The fact that Čáslavka’s wife Eliška, b. Steiner, came from the family of a Jewish merchant. PROCHÁZKOVÁ, ref. 59, pp. 28, 65.

62 ABS Prague, f. HS VKR (f. 302), sign. 302-57-2 / 189–190, Protocol written to the MNO – General Staff with Brig. gene.

Karel Paleček, folios 189–190; FÁREK, ref 55, pp. 10–13.

through Warsaw they began to focus on the Poles. Alois Čáslavka negotiated a meeting with Fárek and Long in Poland according to an agreement from the Polish consulate in Prague. In July 1939, the Poles were already very aware of the dangers of Nazi Germany, and so they welcomed the reports on the status and deployment of the Wehrmacht in the Protectorate. At that time, there was also an offer to integrate the Consuls into the military resistance organization Defense of the Nation. However, Fárek and Longa rejected this offer after consultation with František Moravec.63

The primary goal of the Councilors at this time was to satisfy the Polish side as much as possible by passing on valuable intelligence regarding the threat of a German invasion of Poland. Thanks to cooperation with railway employees, they obtained valuable reports on the movement of troops from the Přerov railway junction, Pilsen, Moravian Ostrava and Česká Třebová.64

The Gestapo intervenes

As already mentioned, the councilors worked more or less independently, refused to merge with the resistance group Defense of the Nation, and also tried not to involve more people in their activities than necessary. However, even the rules set by František Fárek aroused only a deceptive feeling of security. In order to be interconnected, the German secret police liquidated one resistance group after another in the first months of the occupation. The noose around František Fárek and his collaborators slowly began to tighten after a large raid at the turn of August and September 1939 against the so-called group of Schmoranz press confidants, in which a number of former intelligence officers worked. The investigative methods of the German secret police have borne fruit. The Gestapo skillfully used brutal investigative methods, in which the interrogated people brought other people to the secret police.

As Fárek stated in his memoirs, as far as other groups are concerned, the control of Tomáš Houška in particular was very difficult. Already in the pre-war years, he was considered an excellent expert on the German army, and so he became indispensable for many resistance figures.65 In a way, Fárek knew about Houšek’s contacts with other former reporters. Apparently, however, he did not know about contacts with specific members of the Schmoranz group.66

After an extensive wave of arrests from the summer of 1939, Houška began to suffer from nervousness, and according to friends, he was physically and mentally exhausted. His fears with the words: “Franta, if the Gestapo touches my skeleton during the interrogation, I have serious fears that I will not stand it and I will speak”, he also allegedly told František Fárek.67

At the instigation of Fárka and Longy, a courier from abroad brought a letter of appreciation from František Moravec to him to physically and morally resonate Houška. However, according to the instructions, he did not destroy the report after reading it and took it to his own apartment. In the near future, this event was to have literally fatal consequences.68

The members of the Gestapo obtained clues pointing to the illegal activities of the Konšels and Tomáš Houška from interrogation protocols secured by members of the Schmoranz group. It should be noted that

63 PROCHÁZKOVÁ, ref. 59, p. 71.

64 PROCHÁZKOVÁ, ref. 59, pp. 71–72; FÁREK, František. Cooperation of the resistance group 2nd dept. with Polish news authorities (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 5–6.

65 According to some colleagues, Tomáš Houška was also one of the most kind-hearted people with an effort to

meet them. ABS Prague, f. HS VKR (f. 302), sign. 302-57-2 / 172–173, Protocol written to the MNO – General Staff with Brig. gene. Karel Paleček, fol. 172–173.

66 FAREK, Frantisek. Letter of Col. gšt. Moravce. – Government army. – Maj. gšt. Salzer. – Capt. Novotný. – Conflict Col.

gšt. Hájek contra plk. gšt. Moravec. – Capt. No. – License plates of Gestapo vehicles and him. authorities. – Cooperation with other resistance groups. – Meeting with Col. gšt. Kudláček. – Cover addresses to the Netherlands. – Václav Klabík and his activities. – Press group. – Death of Maj. gšt. Kleina. – Concerns with Maj. gšt. With a stick. – Courier to London. – Message through Beneš to his homeland. – Letter from Col. Moravce for Maj. Houška (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 4.

67 FÁREK, ref. 67, s. 10.

68 Tamže, ref. 67, s. 13–14.

there have been serious doubts in military resistance circles since the beginning about Schmoranz’s abilities. The thorough conspiracy of his group was also hampered by the involvement of a large number of former officers and the dangerous underestimation of the capabilities of the German secret police.69

These words were confirmed in his memoirs, for example, by the former head of the study group of the 2nd Department of the Primary School, Col. gšt. František Havel. After his arrest and stay in custody at Pankrác, he considered and came to the conclusion that nothing good was waiting for them, because: “… there was a danger that Schmoranz’s group led by conspiratorial illiterates (including Třebický Jan Třebický – note: author. about the network of ‘printers’ and something warned us not to contact them. The news smell told us that it would turn out badly. ”71

At the end of October 1939, Fárek received a letter home containing a German message in this sense: “Attention! The Gestapo is interested in you and your work! ”The place of the signature is only indicated

Friend. Concerns gradually engulfed Antonín Long as well. In all cases, it was necessary to prepare for possible problems and reconcile the statements. In general, they were going to deny everything and, as far as possible, to seduce everything to Alois Čáslavka, who was already safe with his family. In the worst case, give the Gestapo some help in relocating the families of the London correspondents. 72

Over time, Fárek gained a sense of security. Unfortunately, as we can see, they are completely fake. He was arrested at his residence on 6 November. On the same day, he first visited the infamous Gestapo Commissioner Oskar Fleischer. According to Fárek’s description, this Gestapo man: “A man in his fifties, smaller, stockier, still frowning, bulldog-faced and forever with a cigar in his mouth,” was one of the dreaded investigators of the German secret police. The very entrance to his office convinced Fárka that he must not indulge in any deceptive illusions about his future. For not being greeted by a Nazi salute, he received a sentence of one hundred squats in the doorway. He could not do this due to a disability on his leg, so Fleischer “grabbed the rubber baton lying on the table, knocked me to the ground with a sharp blow and started with his assistant Herschelmann [Karl Herschelmann – note. MV

The interrogation kept turning to the person of Minister Schmoranz and to a group of his press confidants, with whom Fárek really had almost nothing to do. Farek thus understood that the Gestapo has nothing specific yet. The interrogation ended at about half past one in the morning. He could barely stand on his feet, staggering drunk. He was then taken to a cell in the Pankrác prison. 74

Until mid-December, Fárek managed to resist the interrogations altogether. Fleischer found that he apparently had nothing to do with the printer and turned in a different direction. However, the situation does

69 VAJSKEBR, Jan – SUSTROVA, Radka. German security measures in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia at the beginning of the war. In Memory and History, 2009, vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 103. ISSN 1802-8241.

70 HAVEL, Frantisek. Transfer of messages. fund 2nd dept. hl. staff to the promotional office in Dušní street and the connection

of this event with gen. Eliáš (unpublished typescript held by Ing. Jiří Havel), p. 4.

71 FAREK, Frantisek. Traces disappear in the archive… Prague: Vyšehrad, 1975, pp. 211–212.

72 FAREK, Frantisek. September and October 1939. – Problems connecting to London. – Gestapo activity reports. – Czech police staff in the Gestapo service. – Crimea. assistant Emil Šíp. – Vrch. polic. Secretary František Čmolík. – A few remarks on the work of the group and the conditions in which it developed its activities (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 7–8, 10.

73 FAREK, Frantisek. First interrogation at Crimea. Commissioner Oskar Fleischer. – Crimea. Assistant Karl Herschelmann. –

The first night in solitary confinement in Pankrác (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 1.

74 FÁREK, ref. 75, s. 2–3.

changed dramatically on December 14, 1939, when Long and Tomáš Houška were arrested, among other things. 75 However, Houšek’s detention was the worst blow, because the Gestapo found Moravec’s message from Great Britain during a house search. Houška in particular was subjected to harsh interrogations by the police, from which he had to be literally taken away. In the end, he made a partial confession to Fleischer, but on December 21, he committed suicide by jumping from the window of the Petschk Palace office in Prague. About the death of his friend in Pankrác by “corridor radio”

František Fárek also learned immediately.76

Unfortunately, Tomáš Houška was not the first fallen of the former intelligence officers. Already in October 1939, another member of Schmoranz’s group, Major, committed suicide in prison. gšt. Bohumil Klein, former intelligence analyst and military attaché in Budapest. On March 20, 1940, Fárek’s superior from the time of intelligence work in Slovakia, Lt. Col., also died in the Prague infirmary of the SS as a result of a stomach illness. gšt. Třebický. Particularly in his interrogations, the Gestapo used his serious illnesses in enforcing his statements in a literally perverse way. 77

The resistance group Three Councilors, or only Counselors, was conducted in the investigation only as

Farek Group. Today we already know that the resistance movement began to emerge essentially spontaneously after the Nazi occupation, but Gestapo officials from the beginning of the investigation operated with the construct that the germs of the intelligence resistance movement were created before their departure by František Moravec and František Fárek and Antonín Longa in the occupied Republic to be one of his closest collaborators. 78

At the People’s Court in Berlin

On September 3, 1940, Fárka and Longa Fleischer were last summoned for questioning. The day after, to their surprise, they put them and other prisoners in a common transport cell, so they could recap everything they knew and said during the interrogation. They were then taken to Dresden Prison on Mathildenstrasse. 79

Within a few days, Fárka and another prison train were transferred to the Chemnitz Prison and in October 1940 to the Zwickau prison, where he was employed in a button factory. According to post-war memories, the prisoners suffered from the cold here, but on the other hand, the guards were mostly older and decent people. In January 1941, Fárek forced to move to Moabit in Berlin and in March, together with others, via Szczecin to Golnow. Here, as he said after the war, he was shocked. He did not feel like in a prison, but rather in a monastery cell. Perfect cleanliness everywhere, the parquet floor shone, clean sheets on the bed, white blankets, plates and a cup on the shelf. He could borrow a book here every week, and food was even served on plates and cutlery.80

However, this particular idyll did not last forever. On June 14, 1941, František Fárek was transported

75 FAREK, Frantisek. December 14, 1939. – Capt. Long, Lt. Col. gšt. Houška and Ing. Alarm clock arrested. – Ges-tapa interrogations. – Medical examination in Pankrác. . – Interrogations of Lt. Col. gšt. Houšky and his tragic death. – Partial confession škpt. Fárka a škpt. Longy. – Hearings on the activities of certain agents 2. before 15./

III. 1939 (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 1.

76 FÁREK, ref 77, pp. 4-5; ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-1, pp. 75 and 81.

77 ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-1, fol. 75 and 81. BAREŠ, Arnošt – PASÁK, Tomáš. Zdeněk Schmoranz’s resistance organization in 1939. In Historie a vojenství, 1968, No. 6–7, pp. 1027–1028.

78 FÁREK, ref 77, pp. 7-8; ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-3 / 95–96, Schlußbericht zum

Process Schmoranz and others, fol. 95-96.

79 FAREK, Frantisek. Last interrogation at Crimea. Commissioner Fleischer. – On the transport cell, Capt. Longou.-Departure to Dresden. – Prison on Mathildenstrasse. – Interrogation with Langerichtsrat Preussner. – Arrest warrant. – Transport to Zwickau. – Departure to Berlin Moabit. – Transport to Golnow. – To Berlin Moabit again (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), pp. 1–3.

80 FÁREK, ref. 81, s. 4.

back to Berlin Moabit. Here he was interrogated several more times for his activities against Germany before 1939. It was not until the beginning of November that he learned that he would have a court in Berlin on December 4.81 In the local solitary confinement, František Fárek spent time until his conviction. From morning to evening he sewed buttons on military uniforms, or glued leather wristbands to military caps.82

František Fárek was involved in the trial together with his friend Antonín Longa and, in addition, with the driver of the French embassy, Josef Záruba, who was involved in the Council’s contacts with the embassy. František Fárek’s own accusation blamed not only on the liquidation of intelligence materials, but also on the fact that, together with Longa and Čáslavka, they took care of the families of fugitive intelligence officers and later helped them to leave Poland illegally. Much worse was that he was also blamed for intelligence activities against Germany.83

In an effort to acknowledge and shed light on at least some of the activities just before the trial, Antonín Longa, in agreement with František Fárek, made the following statement:

“I declare that our activity was born out of a desire to help our former superiors, friends and their families, whose pain we witnessed, and that she also maintained this character until the end. We followed our personal friendship help mainly, just as the other activity was entirely an initiative of škpt. Čáslavky, whom we helped in the described way. ”84 Both Fárek and Longa were well aware that these acts would eventually be judged more leniently than their own espionage against Germany.

Fortunately, the court saw Fárek, Longa and Čáslavka’s own activities primarily as illegal assistance to the families of fugitive intelligence officers abroad. According to the court, it was in this case that illegal correspondence with foreign countries was to be conducted through the French embassy. The success was due, among other things, to the fact that neither the Gestapo was able to clarify the content of the reports abroad during the investigation or the court during the hearing.85

The People’s Court in Berlin finally sentenced František Fárek and Antonín Long to ten years in prison. The two could partially rest because the prosecution proposed the death penalty. The court even freed the driver of Záruba.86 However, he did not enjoy the acquired freedom for a long time. He was soon arrested again by the Gestapo and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died.87

Already on December 18, Fárek and Longa were transferred to the prison in Ebrach, Bavaria. Fárka became the so-called Ledertrenner here, or a ripper of leather belts, belts, riding saddles and bags made of loot equipment. He then made mats and then spent almost two and a half years at Verpánek in the shoemaker’s workshop. At the beginning of the year, after a psychotechnical exam, he was assigned to work in a glass grinding shop, where he worked almost until the end of the war.88

The following period was relatively calm in light of previous events. As the years progressed from outside, news indicating the end of German Nazism leaked more. At night, the engines of crashing planes heading for various destinations in Germany were heard more often. At the beginning of April 1945, with the approaching front of František Fárek, they were taken to a common cell, where

81 FÁREK, ref. 81, s. 5.

82 FAREK, Frantisek. Solitary confinement in Moabit. – My neighbors. – Capt. Jaroslav Gardavský sentenced to death. – Capt. Fárek, škpt. Long and driver Záruba before the People’s Court in Berlin. – Legal representative dr. Müller – Hof. – Judgment.

– The end of the door frame. – Transport to the prison in Ebrach. – Employment in a prison. – Sabotage. – Meeting in Hof. – Meeting in Alex, Berlin. – Longa is leaving for Bayreuth. – Interrogations in Berlin. – Christmas Eve 1943 in Bamberg (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 1.

83 ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-3 / 143, Anklageschrift, fol. 142–143.

84 ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-3 / 180, An das Volksgerichtshof, Gollnow, 4 November 1941, fol.

85 ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-3 / 212, In Namen des deutschen Volkes, 4, pp. 211–212.

86 ABS Prague, f. German courts in the Reich (f. 141), sign. 141-63-3 / 196, In Namen des deutschen Volkes, 4, fol. 196.

87 FÁREK, ref. 84, s. 10.

88 Ibid., P. 11-12.

met well-known, mostly political prisoners, and was then transported south by train to Straubing, Germany.89

At the end of April, Allied aircraft also bombed Straubing. On April 25, they were all expelled from their duties, each receiving a blanket and a cup of food, and marching in prison towards Dachau. As they marched, they all passed debris and saw many corpses from previous marches in the ditches by the roads. Apparently, some of the guards correctly suspected that the war was coming to an end and was slowly disappearing. František Fárek, along with others, also broke away from the march. Subsequently, they managed to contact the vanguards of the advancing US army. It was the Americans who finally received proper food and medical care. František Fárek, along with others, finally experienced his dream freedom.90

Post-war period

On May 15, 1945, František Fárek was transferred to Cheb and a day later he got through Prague to visit his family. His friend Alois Čáslavka soon called from abroad, but they waited in vain for the last Counselor Antonín Long. He was liberated, but from April 12, 1945, when he was to perform intelligence tasks for the US military, he was missing. In 1947, the court officially declared him dead. His post-war destinies are thus shrouded in mystery for the time being.91

Fárek reported to the 2nd Department immediately after his return, but did not receive an assignment immediately. In the given situation, it was equally irrelevant, because his state of health still did not allow him to remain in the army. However, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel of infantry and for his resistance activities he was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross in 1939, the Czechoslovak Medal for Bravery and the Czechoslovak Medal of Merit of the 1st degree.92

However, he remained in the news when his pre-war colleague gen. Josef Bartík called for cooperation in the so-called Department for Political Intelligence (Department Z, later Department VII) 93 at the Ministry of the Interior. At the end of May 1945, Fárek received the position of the supreme trade union council and was in charge of registration and technical issues (head of department Z of the 8th registration). It had nothing to do with the direct performance of the intelligence service.94

But post-war Czechoslovakia was diametrically opposed to its pre-Munich predecessor. As a result of the changing political constellation, it was unrealistic for previously exposed people to remain in top positions. This was especially true of former intelligence officers. It was Fárek’s friend and at the same time introduced gene. As a result of this political rivalry between the communist and democratic parties in the power departments, Bartík had to resign in January 1946 and was replaced by Cpt. Bedřich Pokorný.95 After leaving

89 FÁREK, František. Transport to Straubing. – Death march. – Liberation. – Reunion with the Family (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek), p. 1.

90 FÁREK, ref. 91, s. 2–7.

91 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. 255, Personal file of the participant in the struggle for national liberation Antonín Longa, Description – declaration of death.

92 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military personal files, Military personal file of František Fárek, Curriculum vitae.

93 At the time of working on his memoirs in the late 1960s, František Fárek apparently still saw his work at the Ministry of the Interior as a very sensitive matter, and despite a certain political easing of the time, he was practically not mentioned in his extensive memories.

94 ABS Prague, f. Central Office of State Security (f. 305), sign. 305-347-5 / 3, Protocol drawn up on 15 March 1948 in the

State Security Office in Prague with František Fárek, page 3; NA Prague, f. Petr Zenkl (f. 33), sign. 33-11-1, Information on the situation in the Ministry of the Interior and in some subordinate security forces, sheet 36 and VÚA-VHA Prague, Coll. Military personal files, Military personal file of František Fárek, Subject: Fárek František, Chief Trade Union Council at the Ministry of the Interior – Lieutenant Colonel in the Bay. – making a decree.

95 HANZLIK, Frantisek. The case of Cpt. Adolf Püchler. Testimony of an OBZ agent on illegal obtaining of funds

management service of the Ministry of the Interior. Prague: Office for Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism, 2006, pp. 152. ISBN 80-86621-21-9 and KREISINGER, ref. 54, pp. 101–102.

gene. Bartík from the Ministry of the Interior, Fárek came under the inconspicuous control of the security forces. Members of the communist-controlled 5th (defense) department of the HŠ MNO suspected him of contact with another pre-Munich correspondent, Gen. František Moravec. They were seriously concerned that Moravec was trying to get some information from the Ministry of the Interior via Fárka.96 Fárek’s contacts with gen. Bartík. Fárek himself probably had a certain awareness of the control of his person, which was pointed out by the members themselves.

5th department. Fárek was in contact with Bartík about the so-called London archives. František Fárek was to organize the archive, which still came from the activities of political news in London. It is of some interest that the Communists did not have a single person in Fárek’s department, where all the files were concentrated.97

The events of the beginning of 1948 affected the fate of František Fárek in practically all aspects. First of all, the communist coup affected his professional life. The events took a turn for the worse, and on March 10, 1948, František Fárek was secured by members of the StB and at the same time they underwent a house search. Investigators were interested in his work at the ministry and also contacts with Josef Bartík. A week later, however, he was released.98

Fárek also entered a year full of rapid changes with his deteriorating health. The attentive reader will remember that he was physically marked by the First World War. In addition, after liberation, he suffered from severe heart disease. According to certain information, he was already suffering from a myocardial infarction in 1943 in the Ebrach prison. In connection with deteriorating hearing and general changes in society, he applied for retirement and left the Ministry of the Interior on November 30, 1948.99

But he did not enjoy the relative calm for long. He was arrested for the second time in January 1949 and immediately transferred to the State Court in Prague.100 According to the secret police, he was to be aware of the allegedly planned emigration of his niece and her husband, a former member of the RAF, Maj. František Fábera. The planned process fully fell within the framework of the repressive campaign carried out against selected members of the Czechoslovak army – ie against members of the army in the West and former military correspondents of the democratic Masaryk Republic.

A lawsuit filed by the infamous military prosecutor Lt. Col. just. JUDr. Karel Váš blamed František Fárek for not reporting the crime. Fortunately, the verdict of the State Court in Prague acquitted him. However, his niece sentenced his court to a two-year-old and her husband even to a five-year unconditional sentence.101

In conclusion

The political changes of 1948 affected the fate of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens. For logical reasons, František Fárek also joined them. In 1953, his military rank was adjusted to a lieutenant colonel of the administrative service in the reserve. According to the then so-called service-political characteristic: He does not manifest himself politically in the place, he is not involved in mass organizations. He does not participate in or participate in public life in the place

96 ABS Prague, f. HS VKR (f. 302), sign. 302-200-2 / 16, Maj. Fárek Ministry of the Interior, page 16.

97 ABS Prague, f. Central Office of State Security (f. 305), sign. 305-347-5 / 4, Protocol written on 15 March 1948 at the Regional Office of State Security in Prague with František Fárek, page 4 and KREISINGER, ref. 54, pp. 100–101.

98 ABS Prague, f. Investigation files, arch. No. V-5508 MV, Record of detention of March 10, 1948.

99 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military personal files, František Fárek military personal file, Curriculum vitae; Certificate of illness (injury) no. 489.

100 ABS Prague, f. Investigation files, arch. No. V-5508 MV, Minutes of arrest dated 3 January 1949, fol. 39.

101 ABS Prague, f. Investigation files, arch. No. V-5508 MV, Indictment of the State Prosecutor’s Office in Prague; Judgment of the State Court in Prague.

does not even work on building the community, although he is invited to do such work. … “.102 In full accordance with the above characteristics, the amount of his pension was also adjusted accordingly… In the second half of the 1950s, the members of the StB also tried unsuccessfully to obtain it for cooperation.103

Even at the time of political liberalization during the 1960s, it was under the inconspicuous control of the District Department of VB Roztoky, okr. Prague West. In October 1965, František Fárek, apparently for his former inclusion in military and political intelligence and possible contact with persons abroad, even saw his inclusion in the register of enemy persons.104

Nevertheless, he managed to return to intelligence in a way when he began writing his extensive memoirs of the pre-war years.105 In 1975, his memoirs entitled Traces Disappearing in the Archive were published in book form. Just before the fall of the communist regime, a screenplay for the television production Bank House Daubner was written on the basis of his book, inspired by the activities of Franz Dobianer with Jaromír Hanzlík and Viktor Preiss in the lead roles. However, František Fárek, a retired lieutenant colonel and senior trade union council, did not live to see her introduction. Despite his turbulent life, he died quietly and peacefully on September 24, 1973, at his home in Prague.

M. VYHLÍDAL: DERERSTEVONDENDREISCHÖFFEN. NACHRICHTENOFFIZIER STABKAPITÄN FRANTIŠEK FÁREK (1894 – 1973)

This article is a biographical sketch of the Czechoslovak officer František Fárek. In his career, all moments of fate of the Czechoslovak Republic were reflected. Fárek, whose activities and fate are described in broad contexts, thus serves as an imaginary guide through Czechoslovak military history in the first half of the

20th century. Documents were used as the source for this study and are stored in the Military History Archive (VÚA-VHA) in Prague, in the archive of the former Ministry of the Interior (archive bezpečnostních složek – ABS) in Prague, in the Czech National Archive (Národní archive – NA) in Prague , to a much smaller extent also the archives managed by the State District Archives (SOkA) in Liberec and the Federal Archives – Military Archives in Freiburg. The extensive estate of Fárek, which is still preserved by his descendants, is also of great importance.

František Fárek was born in Lipník nad Bečvou in 1894. During the First World War he fought on the Italian front as a soldier of the Austro-Hungarian army. After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, he volunteered as an officer and took part in the battles against Hungary in southern Slovakia in 1919. After his wounding, he was assigned to the military intelligence service (the so-called 2nd division) and initially worked in Slovakia. His area of responsibility was intelligence work against Hungary. In 1929 he was ordered to the headquarters of the military intelligence service (so-called 2nd division of the general staff) in Prague.

102 VÚA-VHA Prague, Sb. Military personal files, František Fárek military personal files, Proposal for the adjustment of rank for a retired lieutenant colonel of the administrative service; Official political characteristics of the officer (general) in the reserve.

103 ABS Prague, f. Investigation files, arch. No. V-5508 MV, Subject: Fárek František ze Suchdola – extract from MV archive

of 21 October 1958.

104 ABS Prague, f. Investigation files, arch. No. V-5508 MV, Farka František, b. August 10, 1894, apartment. Suchdol, Havlíčková No. 659 investigation; Fárek František – inspection record; Fárek František – proposal for registration in the register of NO.

105 In addition, he also prepared theoretical reports addressed directly to the then Intelligence Administration of the ČSLA General Staff. More about

matu: MEDVECKÝ, Matej – ZAŤKOVÁ, Jana – ONDRA, Hubert. CK Evidenz bureau – On the development of the Austro-Hungarian intelligence service. In Military History, 2016, vol. 20, no. 3, p. 111-126. ISSN 1335-3314.

He was responsible for the offensive intelligence activity against Nazi Germany. Fárek managed, among other things, the first so-called advanced central intelligence agency (Předsunutá agenturní ústředna – PAÚ) in Northern Bohemia. He managed to set up a pretended bank here, which, under the guise of lending, looked for suitable candidates for the services of the Czechoslovak military intelligence service. In March 1939, when the occupation of the Republic was imminent, he became the initiator of an action aimed at destroying the documents of the Czechoslovak intelligence service at the headquarters in Prague.

Immediately after the breakup of Czechoslovakia by National Socialist Germany, he joined the resistance movement (the so-called group of three lay judges) and, together with staff captain Antonín Longa and Alois Čáslavka, his former colleagues from the intelligence service, he passed on important information to the latter Time-forming Czechoslovak military resistance movement abroad (the intelligence branch grouped around Lt. i. Gst. František Moravec in Great Britain). When his work was discovered, he was arrested by the Gestapo together with Antonín Longa and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He brought World War II as a political prisoner of Nazi Germany.

In April 1945, he was liberated by the US Army along with other camp inmates. Already in May of the same year, he was admitted to the Political Reporting Department at the Czechoslovak Ministry of the Interior in Prague, where he was responsible for the evidence and technical matters. In this position he witnessed the takeover of power by the communists in the country in February 1948. In the period after the communist coup d’état he was arrested several times and interrogated by the State Security (StB). However, his conviction never came.

Even after his involuntary departure from the Interior Ministry, he was closely monitored by the communist secret police as a former intelligence officer. At the time of the “thaw” in the ČSR in the 1960s, he wrote his memories. He died in Prague in 1973.

List of used literature:

FÁREK, František. Documents for a Million (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Letter of Col. gšt. Moravce. – Government army. – Maj. gšt. Salzer. – Capt. Novotný. – Conflict Col. gšt. Hájek contra plk. gšt. Moravec. – Capt. No. – License plates of Gestapo vehicles and him. authorities. – Cooperation with other resistance groups. – Meeting with Col. gšt. Kudláček. – Cover addresses to the Netherlands. – Václav Klabík and his activities. – Press group. – Death of Maj. gšt. Kleina. – Concerns with Maj. gšt. With a stick. – Courier to London. – Message through Beneš to his homeland. – Letter from Col. Moravce for Maj. Houška (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Fárek, Longa and Čáslavka to retire. – First report from London. Gene. Ingr. – Gen. Elijah. – Move the eleven families beyond the borders. – Dr. Mountain from the middle row in Prague. – Fárek and Longa “Counselors”. – Caslav’s report from London. – Čáslavek’s biography. – Maj. gšt. Toscani (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Hácha leaves on 14./III. to Berlin. – Eavesdropping on a Hacha-gen phone call. Raw. – Destroy everything. – Group-1 liquidation procedure. – Trouble

with burning of file material. – Archive ag. search center in Podbaba. – What was the case with the destruction of file archives in other ministries and offices (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Ing. Alarm clock, its activities in the 2nd Dept. hl. staff and in the resistance. – Major Child meets and agent A-54. – Maj. gšt. Houška obtained for cooperation. – Lt. in the bay. Truníček and his activity. – Prap. Šlégr. – Strtm. Müller. – Cesta škpt. Longy to make contact with rural news. organs. – Capt. Volevecký. – Pilots want to go abroad. – The end of the Abwehrstelle era. – Last conversation, Capt. Parish with the head of the Abwehrstelle. – The Gestapo is trying to get a cap. Farka to cooperate. – Interrogations of Capt. Fárka on his intelligence activities against Germany (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Last interrogation at Crimea. Commissioner Fleischer. – On the transport cell, Capt. Longou.- Departure to Dresden. – Prison on Mathildenstrasse. – Interrogation with Langerichtsrat Preussner. – Arrest warrant. – Transport to Zwickau. – Departure to Berlin Moabit. – Transport to Golnow. – To Berlin Moabit again (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. First interrogation at Crimea. Commissioner Oskar Fleischer. – Crimea. Assistant Karl Herschelmann. – The first night in solitary confinement in Pankrác (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Members of the 2nd dept. hl. staff of Maj. Bohumil Dítě, škpt. Frant. Fárek, škpt. Antonín Longa, Capt. Josef Rybář, Capt. Oskar Olmer as special observers of the March events of 1939 in Slovakia (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Solitary confinement in Moabit. – My neighbors. – Capt. Jaroslav Gardavský sentenced to death. – Capt. Fárek, škpt. Long and driver Záruba before the People’s Court in Berlin.

– Legal representative dr. Müller – Hof. – Judgment. – The end of the door frame. – Transport to the prison in Ebrach. – Employment in a prison. – Sabotage. – Meeting in Hof. – Meeting in Alex, Berlin. – Longa is leaving for Bayreuth. – Interrogations in Berlin. – Christmas Eve 1943 in Bamberg (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Situation in the 2nd dept. on 15./III.1939. – Arrival of the Abwehr. – Major Abwehr asks Col. Freedom to vacate offices. – Members of the Abwehr in P-1. – Establishment of a resistance group. 2nd department. – Negotiations with English voj. Attaché Gibsonem. – Visit to the French embassy. – Cooperation with franc. voj. Attaché d´Abordem and his seconded Maj. Henri Gouyou (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Situation in the 2nd dept. Hl. staff on 14./III. 1939. – Farewell to Moravc’s group. – Departure of the “eleven” to England and what preceded it. – Col. gšt. Havel appointed head 2. – Return of Maj. Child from Slovakia (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Situation in the 2nd dept. after March 15, 1939. – Admiral Canaris in the General Staff. – Colonel Longin. – Capt. Fárek and Maj. A child at the head of the Abwehrstelle. – A member of the Abwehr wants to make a courtesy visit to Capt. Fárka. – Visit to Maj. Child. – Characteristics of members of the Abwehr and German officers (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Cooperation of the resistance group 2nd dept. with the Polish intelligence authorities

(unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Traces disappear in the archive… Prague: Vyšehrad, 1975.

FÁREK, František. From the history of our intelligence service (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. Transport to Straubing. – Death march. – Liberation. – Reunion

with the family (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. September and October 1939. – Problems connecting to London. – Gestapo activity reports. – Czech police staff in the Gestapo service. – Crimea. assistant Emil Šíp. – Vrch. polic. Secretary František Čmolík. – A few remarks on the work of the group and the conditions in which it developed its activities (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. 2nd Department of the General Staff for mobilization in September 1938. – Journey to Vyškov.

Surrender of Czechoslovakia. – Return to Prague. – Farewell to us. hl. no. arm. gene. I’m a tailor.

News. activity of the 2nd dept. around Munich. – Departure of the head 2. Dept. Col. gšt. Hájka. – Col. gšt. František Moravec new head of the 2nd dept. of the main staff (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

FÁREK, František. December 14, 1939. – Capt. Long, Lt. Col. gšt. Houška and Ing. Alarm clock arrested.

Gestapo interrogations. – Medical examination in Pankrác. . – Interrogations of Lt. Col. gšt. Houšky and his tragic death. – Partial confession škpt. Fárka a škpt. Longy. – Hearings on the activities of certain agents 2. before 15./III. 1939 (unpublished manuscript held by Prof. Jiří Fárek).

GEBHART, Jan. Notes on Czechoslovak-Polish intelligence contacts until March 15, 1939. In Slezský sborník, 1996, vol. 94 (52), No. 1, pp. 34-37.

HANZLIK, Frantisek. The case of Cpt. Adolf Püchler. Testimony of an OBZ agent on illegal obtaining of funds by the intelligence service of the Ministry of the Interior. Prague: Office of Documentation and Investigation of Crimes of Communism, 2006. ISBN 80-86621-21-9.

HAVEL, Frantisek. Transfer of messages. fund 2nd dept. hl. staff to the promotional office in Dušní street and the connection of this event with gen. Eliáš (unpublished typescript held by Ing. Jiří Havel).

HOLUB, Ota. Trumps of Commissioner Geissler. Ústí nad Labem: Severočeské nakladatelství, 1988.

KOKOŠKA, Jaroslav – KOKOŠKA, Stanislav. Agent A-54 dispute. Dust: Our Army, 1994. ISBN 80-206-0437-5.

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