Jiří Kasala 1912 - 1942

Born 23.3.1912 in Přílepy
Died 15.4.1942 in Mauthausen

Biography

Jiří Kasala was born on 23 March 1912 as one of eight children in a tailor’s family in Přílepy, a small village situated in the foothills of Hostýnské vrchy, in eastern Moravia of today’s Czech Republic. Jiří attended primary school in Přílepy and then three years of secondary school in Holešov. His parents could not support him further in his studies, and Jiří started working for Baťa Company in Zlín as a worker. In 1934 he was called up for the military service, earning the rank of corporal by the 10^th infantry regiment in Valašské Meziříčí. In April 1938, Jiří Kasala was recruited by the Finance Guard (Finanční Stráž - FS), a uniformed armed corps, responsible for custom service of imported goods and adhesion to tax liability as well as for protection of Czechoslovak borders. He was allocated to FS station Bílý Potok (Weißbach) near Javorník (Jauernig) at the Czechoslovak-Germany border. Later, in June 1938, he was promoted to a full inspector of Finance Guard, still located at FS station Bílý Potok, where he served until the annexation of Czechoslovak borders by Nazi Germany in September 1938. After occupation of the rest of the country in March 1939, he served at several inland FS stations and offices. In December 1939 he was relocated to Rusava, a small village in the deep forests of sv. Hostýn (st. Hostein) to ensure village administration and rationing. Here, Jiří Kasala courageously helped people fleeing from Nazi persecution, and supported early resistance that was formed in this region after German occupation.

Jiří Kasala was arrested by the German secret police (Gestapo) on 24 June 1941 and accused of organizing illegal radio reception and spreading news broadcasted from London and Moscow. He was imprisoned under inhumane conditions in Zlín, Uherské Hradiště and Brno prisons, and on 14 October 1941 sentenced to deportation to the Mauthausen concentration camp. He was suspended from his position in the Finance Guard, and all his property was expropriated. In Mauthausen, he was classified as “Tschechisch (T) – Schutz”, among others posing a threat to the German Reich and whose return was undesirable. He died aged 30, on 24 April 1942. His memory is nowadays reminded by small memorials in the villages of Přílepy and Rusava.

Petr Vaňhara (Brno, Czech Republic)

Location In room