S Indiánem na letounu – Rajlich Jiří (2016)

Raw, passionate, subjective, at times almost too harsh. Such is the personal diary of fighter pilot Otto Hanzlíček (1911-1940). The document, covering the period from June 1939 to October 1940, represents a valuable testimony of those Czechoslovak pilots who did not give up after the Nazi occupation. It is the account of a soldier and aviator, frustrated by the Munich and March catastrophes as well as the countless difficulties and uncertainties of the early months of foreign resistance operations. In any case, it is a testimony that is supremely authentic. Hanzlíček's civic and patriotic attitudes were shaped by his scouting and Sokol youth experienced in the northern Bohemian border region, as well as by his military service in the elite branch of the Czechoslovak army. Like hundreds of others, after the occupation, he first fled to Poland. From there, even before the war broke out, he made it to France, where he had to sign a commitment to the Foreign Legion. However, as soon as the war became a reality, he could finally take his place in the cockpit again. On the French skies, he bravely fought in Curtisses with the Indian emblem – as a member of the famous Escadrille Lafayette (3rd Squadron GC II/5). Despite the unfavorable situation in the desperate battles of the time, he managed to achieve several victories. In the end, he was shot down himself.