Josef Balabán was a Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

n soldier mostly known for his involvement in resistance

Czech resistance to Nazi occupation

Czech resistance to German Nazi occupation during World War II is a scarcely documented subject, by and large a result of little formal resistance and an effective German policy that deterred acts of resistance or annihilated organizations of resistance...

 against Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 Balabán joined Czechoslovak Legions

Czechoslovak Legions

The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...

 in Russia. Later, he served as an officer in Czechoslovakian Army, in artillery units, as a staff officer and then at the Ministry of Defense (reaching rank of lieutenant-colonel). After occupation of the rest of Czech lands

Czech lands

Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...

 by Germany in March 1939 he started to cooperate with resistance group Obrana národa (Defense of the nation) set up by former army officers. Since sumer 1939 he was one of the leaders of the group. Together with Josef Mašín and Václav Morávek

Václav Morávek

Václav Morávek was Czechoslovak Brigadier General and national hero, one of best known personalities of Czech antinazi rezistance and member of famous resistance group called Three Kings....

 they formed group known as Three Kings (Tři králové) carrying out intelligence gathering and sabotages.

The group continued in communication with Paul Thümmel (agent A-54), a Nazi intelligence officer also working as a spy for Czechoslovakia. The most visible sabotages were two bomb attacks carried out in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

: one in January 1941 against the Ministry of Air Travel (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) and police headquarters and second in February 1941 in the Berlin-Anhalt rail station, intended to kill Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...

.

On April 22, 1941 Gestapo

Gestapo

The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...

 grabbed Balabán after a short gunfight. In spite of being tortured he didn't disclose any information about the resistance. After Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...

 took position of Deputy Reichsprotektor (September 1941) martial law was established and Balabán was sentenced to death. He was executed in Ruzyně Prison on October 3.

Literature

• Petr Koura: Podplukovník Josef Balabán. Život a smrt velitele legendární odbojové skupiny „Tři králové“ (Lieutenant-colonel Josef Balabán. Life and death of the leader of the legendary resistance group "Three Kings"), Prague, 2003, ISBN 80-86182-72-X.