Be interesting to know, how many of you still remeber. He was a Ex-patriot whom you heard every day on BBC & RFE 1949 until his death in London 1973. Remember? This was his "on air name". Who was he? He spent those years broadcasting accross the Iron Courtain, to give hope to those left behind in the "old home land" and not as fortunate as him to be ALIVE and FREE.....
jaroslav stransky - i don't remember him, my mother did however his grandson (http://www.narodni.cz/cz/zivotopis.html) returned to the cr in 1989. he is a medical doctor, but also continues in the family tradition of publishing: http://www.pritomnost.cz/historie.php
Very nice to hear, that at least someone remebers the family. I did not know that his grandons was back in CZ ( we lost contact after 73 ). Jaroslav was my mothers uncle (her mothers brother), my great uncle. Last Spring I also visited Habry U Caslavy, where the family originaly came from. The "locals" claimed not to know any Stransky's ever lived there:"Past or present". No Jews or Gypsies here, proclaimed an old timer as he was getting into his old Skoda 1000. The Synagogue built in 1825 --with the condition the Jewish community paid for the building of a Catholic Church in the village. A beutiful little Catholic Church is still there today (I even attended a funeral mass there on the day of my visit), on par with anything you can see in the Vatican, quite a surprize for a small village (But the rectory accross the street is quite run down. No more Jews to pay for it, I guess) The funeral procession on the way to the cemitery, passed by the location of the former Synagogue --not a stone left standing, but a few broken head stones of the former jewish cemitery can be seen peeking between the trees, above the tall grass, in a field of unkept weeds -- soon to be turned into a housing project -- in 1850 Habry was a town with a polpulation of 2,136 of which 822 were of the jewish faith, with it's own Coat of Arms. Today the population is 964 and 384 houses with mostly early 1800 buildings around the town square! Zedniks father, Adolf Stransky * 8.4.1855, Habry, +18.12.1931, is burried in Brno -- were that branch of the family moved 1880. Never to return to Habry U Caslavy. How the Gremans found that village without satelite imaging, is beyond me. Unless some sympatizer (traitor after the loot) guided them, for even today, it is in the middle of nowhere. But they only found 22 jews and killed them, with other prominent resident on the town square in 1939. JFY411 For those interested to see a real 1st Republic Czech village/town, were the newest thing you'll probaly see are the 1955 Skodas 1000. From Prague it is 2 1/2 Hr by bus (90Kc) to Chotebor, on the Masaryk Square, you transfer to a local bus to Habry (15Kc), that travels on a mostly one lane paved wagon road 30 minutes (mostly imapssable during the winter), cresating the hills, overlooking the wast yellow canola and clove fields as far the eye can see for 15Km -- camera is a must for the trip and village for the pre WWII history buff -- only one restaurant for the locals (full meal, including soup and 1/2ltr 56Kc) and no overnight public accomodations. The big hotel is in Chotebor.
