.
Jan WIENER

* 26/05/1920
† 24/11/2010
_______________________________________________________________
S hlbokým smútkom Vám musíme oznámiť, že
With sadness it has to be advised that
AC2 Jan Wiener [788867]
radista vo výcviku z 311. perute RAF,
zomrel v stredu 24. Novembra 2010 v Prahe.
Wireless Operator trainee with 311 Sqn. RAF,
died on Wednesday 24th November 2010 in Prague.
_______________________________________________________________
V minulých dnech jsme utrpěli velkou ztrátu. Máme na mysli odchod Jana Wienera, kterého jsme všichni znali a který kolem sebe šířil i v nejtěžších dobách života pohodu a radostnou atmosféru. Prožil mimořádně dramatický odchod do zahraničí koncem třicátých let minulého století, vstoupil koncem války do RAF a podal o tom svém zápasu znamenité literární svědectví ve své knize se symbolickým názvem Vždy proti proudu.
In the last few days we have suffered a great loss. We mean the departure of Jan Wiener, whom we all knew and who had spread peace and joy in times of difficulty. He had a dramatic departure abroad in 1939, and joined the RAF. After the war he wrote about this experience in his book, symbolically called ‘ Always Upstream’
V posledních desetiletích býval zván Karlovou univerzitou, aby přednášel historii dvacátého století studentům na filozofické fakultě, a se stejným zápalem se věnoval přednáškové činnosti na Williams College ve státě Massachussetts. Všude ho měli rádi, obdivovali ho a jeho prostřednictvím obdivovali naše letce, kteří se podíleli na slavné bitvě nejen o Anglii, ale i o znovuvzkříšení Československé republiky.
In recent decades he had been invited to lecture in 20th Century history at the Charles University, Prague, which he also undertook with the the same enthusiasm at the Williams College, Massachussetts, USA. He was respected and admired by all the Czechoslovak RAF veterans who had fought in WW2 for the freedom of their homeland.
Dokázal i po válce šířit myšlenky svobody, za kterou odešel jako mladý hoch bojovat, a trpělivě demonstroval ve svých vystoupeních hrdinství našich letců, z nichž mnozí položili za ideály demokracie a svobody i svoje životy. Osobně se staral, aby odkaz československých příslušníků RAF z druhé světové války i jeho osobní podíl na tomto boji nemohl upadnout do zapomenutí.
After the war he continued to spread the ideals of freedom that, as a young man he had left his homeland to fight for, through his lectures about the heroism of out pilots, many of whom had paid with their lives for the ideals of freedom and democracy. He personally endeavoured to ensure that the contribution made by the Czechoslovaks serving in the RAF in World War 2 would not be forgotten.
Svaz letců České repubiky
Více informací zde
More information here
.
.
Jan was one of many, many Czech Jews who served in th RAF. A short obituary about him occured in the Jerusalem Post. It is regretable, given the suffering of all the Jews in Europe, that his ethnic background is hidden by this web site – a kind of denial that Jews took part in freeing Czecholslovakia as it was – as are all the Jews who served in the Free Czech Forces hdden. Such anti-Semitism should have disappeared with Hitler nd Stalin
Martin Sugarman (Author and Archivist of the Jewish War Veterans of the UK, AJEX)
[Moderators note: Jan Weiner was a Czechoslovak national – the usage of just ‘Czech’ is discriminating against Slovaks who were also Czechoslovak nationals at that time. All the Czechoslovak men and women who served during WW2 in the RAF, or WAAF’s, irrespective of their denomination, so that they could fight for the liberation of Czechoslovakia. No ethnic backgrounds of those Czechoslovak men and women are referred to, to ensure that no denomination is discriminated against. Many other denominations were involved and to specify one, it is discriminating against the others.]
R.I.P.
Dear friends,
I am a freelance journalist in London. I write many obituaries for the British media — the Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Guardian and Financial Times.
I hope to write Jan Wiener’s obituary for one or more of those papers.
I am looking for any further information available.
MOST IMPORTANT: I do not know when he joined the RAF. I would like to say which RAF bombing raids he was involved in. Where in England was he based?
Some news reports call him “Colonel.” That is not usually an RAF rank.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to honour him, but I must be 100 percent accurate.
Many thanks
Phil
If anyone would like to contribute any relevant information for this obituary, please contact us here