Karel Čurda
Karel Čurda (10 October 1911 in Stará Hlína, today part of Třeboň – 29 April 1947 in Prague) was a Czech Nazi collaborator during World War II.
Wartime activities
A soldier of the
Execution
After the war, Čurda was tracked down and arrested. When asked in court how he could betray his comrades, Čurda reportedly answered, "I think you would have done the same for 1 million marks."[4] Čurda was found guilty of treason and hanged on 29 April 1947 at Pankrác Prison.[5]
Alternative theory
Modern Czech historian Jiří Plachý gave a different account of his personality and motives.[6] According to research, Čurda stayed with his family in South Bohemia in the immediate aftermath of the assassination. That put him under huge pressure as he knew the Nazis could wipe out his whole family or village, just as they had wiped out Lidice and Ležáky. It is posited that this was the key factor in his actions.[5][7]
Čurda in film and fiction
In the film Operation Daybreak (1975), Čurda is portrayed by Martin Shaw. In Anthropoid (2016), he was portrayed by Jiří Šimek.[8] In The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), he was portrayed by Adam Nagaitis.
See also
- Operation Anthropoid
References
- ^ "The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich", holocaustresearchproject.org; accessed 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Secrets of War: The Spy Who Betrayed Hitler"
- ^ Lisciotto, Carmelo (2009). "The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich". The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ MacDonald, C. A. (1989). The Killing of SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. Free Press.
- ^ a b "Czech Traitors Hanged Today", The Free Lance–Star, 29 April 1947.
- ^ "Proč zradil Karel Čurda? Historik předložil nová fakta". Zpravy.aktualne.cz. 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
- ^ "Trial and terror in a by-gone Prague", 2007, The Telegraph
- ^ "Full Cast & Crew", IMDb