„Agent“, který střílel. Život a smrt studenta Lubomíra Koukala
A shooting “agent” life and death of Lubomír Koukal

Summary/Abstract: Lubomír Koukal’s tragic story perfectly illustrates the situation in Czechoslovakia after the communist coup d’état in February 1948. Lubomír Koukal was not involved in politics – he simply longed for a peaceful and happy life in a free country. This is why he escaped to Austria in 1951, where his fiancée joined him later. They suff ered from lack of money, so he decided to come back to Czechoslovakia illegally and ask his fiancée’s father to help them. The local quarters of CIC learned of his plan and its deputy asked Koukal to bring the letters from other refugees, who could not get in touch with their families, across the border. Koukal obtained a payment as well as a gun, although he could not handle it. Soon after crossing the line two policemen spotted him in Veselí nad Lužnicí and caught up with him at the local train station. A fight ensued in the waiting room and Koukal took out his gun to threaten the policemen. But one of them started to shoot and Koukal also pulled the trigger, wounding him fatally. He tried to shoot himself afterwards but failed and the second policeman managed to disarm him with the help of passers-by. The Czechoslovak Communist tribunal turned this case into an example of the western countries’ interference with the internal affairs of Czechoslovakia and Koukal into a bloodthirsty American mercenary, which could not be farther from the truth. Koukal was sentenced to death and executed.

• Details
• Contents