Czechoslovak volunteers in the Winter War

[Neužil]

Hello everyone, I've just read in the article about foreign volunteers in the Winter War by Tapani Kossila that there was one volunteer from Czechoslovakia in this conflict. I am from Czech Republic and it came to my mind that maybe I can find out who he was...so if you have some information, just from which source is this information...Thank You in advance...

[Lotvonen]

By chance I remember that there is a Czech name on a gravestone in the Turku graveyard military section. However I can't remember the name and where the gravestone is, moreover there is knee-deep snow...
Link, for want of better information
http://www.turunseurakunnat.fi/files/at ... ku_01_.pdf
Legend 3: Military section
I promise to return to the subject as soon as the snow is gone.

[Jagala]

Among the British volunteers who joined in London there were a few foreigners as well. For instance a Portuguese and two Italians and "Neumark, Otto Walter" born in Brno in 1921, but it is not clear whether he was classified as British or Czech.

There were also other foreigners who had arrived in Finland by other means and served in "Osasto Sisu" (which never got to the frontlines). There were also plenty of foreigners - some trained pilots ańd some not so trained pilots - whom the Finnish Air Force accepted among its ranks. Unfortunately none of the sources at hand give a breakdown of nationalities for either, not to mention complete lists of names.

PS I searched the database (for a Czech-sounding name) among those buried in Turku in 1939-1940, but either my eyes failed me or there was no such name.

[Juha Tompuri]

"Neumark, Otto Walter" born in Brno in 1921, but it is not clear whether he was classified as British or Czech.

Justin Brooke in his book about the british volunteers in Winter War mentions the Otto Walter Neumark as a Czech, student and being born in 1821. The later perhaps being a typo.

Regards, Juha

[Jagala]

FWIW Brooke mentions Neumark once (apart from the list of volunteers): he is one of the last bunch to leave Finland (in August 1941) for Sweden (and further, toghether with the personnel of the British legacy in Helsinki) for Portugal via Germany, France and Spain. Before that he has given a count of the volunteers remaining in Finland by nationality and there are no Czechs.

In other words, Brooke (and the U.K.) may have classified him as British (by citizenship?), but it is entirely possible that the Finns nevertheless classified him as Czech (by nationality?). And vice versa, it could be that Neumark was counted as British and that there was another Czech volunteer - and we are yet to discover his identity.

FWIW2 Neumark survived WWII and was living in the U.K. when Brooke wrote his book.

[Juha Tompuri]

FWIW Brooke mentions Neumark once (apart from the list of volunteers): he is one of the last bunch to leave Finland (in August 1941) for Sweden (and further, toghether with the personnel of the British legacy in Helsinki) for Portugal via Germany, France and Spain.

Thanks for that, it was years ago when I last time have read that book.
Also there is a mention that Mr Neumark enlisted in London as a volunteer.

Before that he has given a count of the volunteers remaining in Finland by nationality and there are no Czechs.

Do you mean the list at page 107?
If so, I think it's not a complete one.

In other words, Brooke (and the U.K.) may have classified him as British (by citizenship?), but it is entirely possible that the Finns nevertheless classified him as Czech (by nationality?).

That is a possibility, but also I think it might be possible that it would not be a wise thing to have a Czech pasport during their journey "home"
Or as I posted above about the list of the nationalities at page 107 - he might have kept his possible Czech citizenship.

And vice versa, it could be that Neumark was counted as British and that there was another Czech volunteer - and we are yet to discover his identity.

I think that it might have been the Brooke book or the same sources as Brooke where Tapani picked up the lone Czech we are now discussing about.

Hello everyone, I've just read in the article about foreign volunteers in the Winter War by Tapani Kossila that there was one volunteer from Czechoslovakia in this conflict.

Regards, Juha

[Lotvonen]

By chance I remember that there is a Czech name on a gravestone in the Turku graveyard military section. I promise to return to the subject as soon as the snow is gone.

There is a headstone "Jaroslaw Hlavaty , *1.7.1918, +17.2.1943" So I misremembered his date of death.

According to the database Hlavaty was a Sub-lieutenant in the Finnish navy, his unit was E/Mi.Lv. (HQ/Mine flotilla?) He was a sailor by occupation, unmarried, and he died of his wounds in Military Hospital no.5.
Picture enclosed.

[kradman]

I know this is a old subject but late last year i picked up a ww2 RAF uniform that was worn by Otto Walter Neumark when he serviced in the RAF after his time fighting in Finland the uniform has his Finnish winter war medal ribbon on it and i have also his issued Winter war medal in its box .I was told he was Czech born but couldnt return to Czech because of the start of WW2 so stayed in the UK and joined the RAF , He must have been proud to wear that Winter War medal ribbon on his tunic .

[JimN]

Again, an old subject, but my father forbad me to research the family history until after he had died which he did a year or so ago - the memories were too painful. Otto Walter was my father's cousin and died in 2002. He and Ari had no children and died intestate although he has two living sisters. He was born British but became Czechoslovak when his father, as head of the household, relinquished his British nationality in the '20s as it had little relevance to his life and ownership of a large textile mill in Brno. In retrospect, this was a terrible mistake and a tragic story. The background of the family is Jewish, and his application for British nationality two days before the Nazi invasion was too late. As a Czechoslovak national his family would have had no protection from Hitler and so OW's father committed suicide on the day of the Nazi invasion in 1939, the family were able to thereby revert to British nationality, and his family was saved from almost certain death in a concentration camp. He was British Vice-consul in Brno and the death is mentioned in Hansard http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/comm ... hoslovakia . My own grandfather had applied for nationality some months before and it came through on the day of the invasion - my father, aged 15, remembered the Gestapo walking up the drive to arrest his father, only having to turn back when they saw the nationality papers. My grandfather subsequently became British pro- Consul in Zurich for the rest of the war, dying shortly afterwards of a stroke.
OW became one of the foremost gliding experts in the world and is recognised as such. I understand from his sisters that he was always a daredevil! He was fiercely anticommunist and his Finnish exploits characteristic. He made great efforts to get some compensation for the nationalised factory and family homes eg vila Neumark http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vila_Neumark , with only partial success. It is an amazing story which has been largely untold because of the memories it brings back to that generation and one of my sons has changed his name back to Neumark (from Newmark) because of it. I suppose that we are lucky that, because the family were wealthy and influential, documentation remains, unlike many many others.
Look after that uniform! We would be interested as to how it came into your possession. The National Archives do have a record of a medal but the file number has just taken us to an empty container. As OW and Ari died intestate, presumably his property was dispersed .....but then his sisters are still alive.

[Juha Tompuri]

Welcome to the Forum,

And as the old Forum motto says, "Information not shared, is lost".
Thank you very much for sharing your personal memories. Very interesting, and even more touching.

Regards, Juha

[JimN]

OW became one of the foremost gliding experts in the world and is recognised as such.

Sorry, meant "paragliding", as in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragliding