Cebe-Habersky Family History- Working Underground Against the Nazi Regime

Here at the Czech Center Museum Houston, we have several different examples of traditional kroj from across the area of what is now the Czech Republic. However, there is one, a small child’s kroj, which along with it’s amazing handsewn detail, comes with the story of the Cebe-Habersky family, who were part of the Nazi resistance during World War 2, worked for the United Nations, and eventually settled in the United States after the communist coup in Czechoslovakia made it impossible to return home.

Family history and background

Jaroslav Cebe married Otilie Kuchar on June 6th, 1931. Jaroslav was a lawyer by trade, born in Habry to a father who was a doctor and a mother who loved botany and art. He grew up with some political connections to those in the Czech govenment, particularly through his sister Mila, who married Jaromir Samal, son of Chancellor Premysl Samal, who served as the mayor of Prague as well as the Head of the Office of the President of the Republic under both President Benes and President Masaryk.

Otilie also came from a well connected family background; her grandfather was Dr. Josef Herold, a famous Czech politician, and spent the early years of her childhood in Kamarov where her father worked in a steel factory. After their marriage, Jaroslav and Otilie moved into an apartment, with Otilie’s parents living on the floor below them.

They welcomed three children into their family: Dagmar, the oldest daughter born April 1932, Jack, middle son born May 1934, and their youngest daughter Ajka, born May 1939 during the beginning of the Nazi occupation of what had once been Czechoslovakia

Events leading up to resistance work

The Nazi government took control of Czechoslovakia as part of the Munich Agreement following World War I. With few supporters, Czechoslovakia was left to either accept German rule, or to fight against the Germans themselves.

On March 15th, 1939, Czech citizens were warned against resisting the Nazi army as they marched into Prague unhindered. Many Czech government officials left their offices, with some government leaders and military intelligence fleeing abroad to other countries and eventually to London. This set the stage for many concerns Czech citizens, including Jaroslav, to aid in resistance against Nazi officials in whatever way they could.

1939

“It was natural for me to start underground activities…This was a unique generation, forgotten by Western Europe, but proud, courageous, and heroic” -Jaroslav Cebe-Habersky

Jaroslav joined what came to be known as the Samal group, a band of resistance lead by his sister’s father-in-law Premsyl Samal. Samal had experience running resistance groups as he was isntramental in helping with the resistance that lead to Czechoslovakia’s independence. In a memoir of Samal’s life, Jaroslav is mentioned as being his deputy and devoted to Samal and the efforts he made as part of the resistance. Although the full extent of Jaroslav’s work as part of the Czech underground resistance is unknown, his own recollections tell us a few things about his efforts:

  • Jaroslav mentions aiding Czechoslavak leaders and official in fleeing the country, many of whom helped with Benes exiled govenrment in London or joined Allied military forces.

  • He helped with organizing meetings between different resistance groups and helped pass communications between in country groups and those outside of the country.

  • Jaroslav also talked about helping to fund and publish anti-Nazi leafletts and other underground publications that were then distributed in Prague and throughout the rest of the country. Even before the war began, over 20 different underground publications were being shared around the country.

  • His work as a lawyer allowed him to use legal affairs as a camouflage to host resistance meetings.

Jaroslav went by the cover name “Habersky” for his protection as part of the underground, a name chosen because he was born in Habry. His cover was so well maintained that many thought that Habersky had died during the war, not realizing that Jaroslav and Habersky were the same person. After the war, Jaroslav officially added Habersky to the family’s last name.

Around Christmas time in 1939, information about underground resistance groups reached the Gestapo. At the time, there were three large Czech resistance groups: Nation’s Defense (made up of military personel), Political Center (former president’s close associates and most likely the resistance group the Samal group was most closely associated with), and Committee of the Petition “We Remain Faithful” (comprised of left wing unionists). The Nation’s Defense resistance group was raided by the Gestapo in December of 1939, leading to the arrests of key military officials and causing the underground resistance groups to consolidate into one group.

Most likely as a result of the raid against the Nation’s Defense group, the Gestapo received the names of those associated with Premsyl Samal, including Jaroslav. He and others went into hiding at various apartments around Prague, continuing meetings and work with the resistance as much as they were able to. At the time, the Czech borders were open and many of their contacts escaped across the boarder, including General Karel Janoušek, who helped organize the Czechoslovak air force within the British Royal Air Force, becoming the only Czech Air Marshal for the RAF. Jaroslav often considered leaving the country as well, but worried about the safety of his family; in the end, many of his fellow resistance fighters who left came home to find that their families had been killed by the Nazis in retaliation for their escape.

“The Christmas spirit had left me, as it had many people who had weary faces hardly showing in the dim light, each with his own worry about what the future would bring.”- Otilie Cebe-Habersky

Trying to escape the depression that seemed to hang over Prague, and to try to forget the fact that Jaroslav was unable to join them, Otilie took the children by train to visit family living in Cercany for Christmas. Once they arrived at the house, late at night a strange man knocked on the door. He spoke fluent Czech and claimed to have important messages that needed to be passed on to Otilie’s husband. Otilie recalls she was convinced of the man’s sincerity until he began to insist she tell him where Jaroslav was hiding. This convinces Otilie that the man is a Nazi spy and she lies, saying Jaroslav is on a skiing trip in Sumava. The man leaves and Otilie calls contacts in Prague the next day to warn Jaroslav about the man.

Unbeknownst to Otilie at the time, the same strange man had visited Jaroslav in his office right before he went into hiding. Jaroslav was also convinced that it was part of a Nazi trap and refused to disclose any information about the resistance to the man; he chose not to tell Otilie about the incident in order to give her deniability. In fact, Jaroslav kept Otilie out of underground operations as much as he could for the same reason. While traveling to an underground meeting while in hiding, the same mad appeared and chased Jaroslav, trying to arrest him. Jaroslav was able to flee out of a side entrance in a cafe and escape, but it left no doubt that the Nazis and Gestapo were interested in Jaroslav and his activities.

1940

After being apart for so long, Otilie and Jaroslav worked to arrange a way for Jaroslav to safely come see the children. Dagmar and Jack were staying in Mnisek with Jaroslav’s parents, while Otilie had baby Ajka with her in Prague. They agreed that once it was safe for Jaroslav to return home so they could take the bus to Mnisek, Otilie would place a wooden statue of St. Claus in the window of their apartment to indicate that the coast was clear. They were both unaware that the Gestapo were occupying the apartment across the street and monitoring all movement in an out of the Cebe-Habersky home. On the morning of January 6th, Otilie placed the statue of St. Claus in the window of No. 5 Francouzska and Jaroslav came to meet her at the home after being sure he was not followed.

While waiting for the bus to depart for Mnisek, they grabbed a cup of coffee. As they left the coffee house, the same strange man who had confronted Otilie and Jaroslav before appeared yelling “Geheime Staatspolizei! Sie sind verhafted!” (Secret State Police! You are under arrest!). The man arrested Jaroslav, putting him in the car with two other Gestapo officers, driving away and leaving Otilie with baby Ajka in the street.

“It happened so fast and in such a short time that I believed it had been a bad dream. I do not remember how long I stood there, waiting for something to happen, for Jaroslav to come back.”- Otilie Cebe-Habersky

Otilie returned home where she called a family friend to tell him about Jaroslav’s arrest and not to come to the house. Not long after she resturned, three men arrived with drawn revolvers to arrest Otilie as well. Otilie left baby Ajka in the care of the maid and was taken to the former Ptechek Bank Palace, which was now home to the Gestapo headquarters.

The Petschek Palace was built by Jewish banker Julius Petschek in the 1920s and was sold in 1930 when the family emigrated to Britain before the building came under Nazi control during the occupation. Thousands of people including Prime Minister Alois Elias and WWI hero Josef Masin were held and subjected to torture by Nazi guards in the bank valuts before either being executed or sent to concentration camps (Pohanka 2023).

“At the Gestapo headquarters we entered a small room with the radio playing full blast to cover the sounds coming from adjoining rooms where people were interrogated and tortured. They asked me about Jaroslav’s underground work and people visiting the apartment. Happily, I knew nothing and somehow made them believe it.”- Otilie Cebe-Habersky

While Otilie was being interograted, Jaroslav was in a neighboring room, made to believe Gestapo officers were torturing Otilie in order to persuade him to talk. Although Jaroslav knew that this was likely not actually happening, he said this was the hardest moment out of all the other forms of torture he would be put through over the next few years as a Nazi prisioner. Otilie was able to convince the Gestapo that she did not know anything about the resistance and she was allowed to return home under Gestapo guard and put on house arrest. Jaroslav’s mother returned with Dagmar and Jack and word spread quickly throughout Prague and the underground that Jaroslav and the rest of the Samal group had been arrested. Otilie’s father and mother moved in with her to help with the children and Jaroslav’s law office continued to be run by a friend and clients continued to support his office so that his family would be taken care of while he was imprisoned.

Jaroslav and the rest of the Samal group were eventually moved from Petschek Palace to Pankrac Prison in Prague. Otilie tried several times to visit Jaroslav while he was kept there. Often times she would wait for hours, hearing screams of pain as prisoners endured beatings only to be told to return later if she wanted to see her husband. Come Sunday, Otilie would take the children to walk by the prison in order to feel close to him.

Pankrac Prison was built in 1889 and quickly was commandeered as a political prison for the Nazi Gestapo. The prison quickly became overcrowded with horrible conditions for those imprisoned there. Three cells held the prisoners who had been condemned to death and a guillotine was constructed to carry out these death sentences. About 1087 prisoners were executed there over the course of the Nazi occupation and several Nazi war criminals were also executed on the site after WWII as well. Eventually, the prison would once again hold and execute political prisoners under the communist regime.

"Each day had its dramatic impact in many families: terror got worse, and the food scarce. Both our parents helped me with money and food but, most of all, with their love”- Otilie Cebe-Habersky

By April of 1940, over 1,500 suspected resistance members had been arrested and thrown in jail to await trials (Bryant 2007). Former President Benes began working to establish communications between resistance groups in occupied Czechoslovakia and London, pushing for the training of parachuters who could be sent into occupied Czech lands to establish means of reliable communication between those in country and London. At the same time, President Benes pushes for recognition of his Czech exile government in London and one of the only countries to recognize this government is the Soviet Union. This causes President Benes to establish close ties and an alliance with the USSR, which would impact the history of Czechoslovakia even after the end of the war.

For Czechs still in country, particularly in larger cities like Prague, by the time the winter of 1940 comes around, food is extremally scarce and restricted. Most are unable to find fresh fruits and vegetables and rice is only available to the sick or pregnant women. Black markets for food goods boom in these areas (Bryant 2007).

1941

In September of 1941, after reports of unrest in Czech lands, Reinhard Heydrich is appointed Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Heydrich was one of the main architects of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” and saw his post in Bohemia as an opportunity to complete three objectives in order to crush Czech resistance: 1. to mobilize the area to aid in the German war effort, 2. root out and crush any Czech resistance, and 3. to impose martial law and enact tribunals. During his time in Pankrac Prison, Jaroslav mentions overhearing discussions among Gestapo leaders, including Reinhard Heydrich and SS officer Karl Hermann Frank planning to target higher Czech officials, including Prime Minister General Alois Elias, who was the head of Czech government under Nazi rule but maintained contact with exiled government officials. Jaroslav smuggled out warnings from prison to General Elias that he should attempt to flee the country, although he was not successful as General Elias was arrested just before Heydrich’s appointed to Reich Protector and was eventually killed in June of 1942 (Mastny 1971). By October 1941, President Benes is working on plans for an assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

Jaroslav and the rest of the Samal resistance group are moved to a new prison in Moabit-Berlin while they await trial. While waiting for their case to be hear, prisoners at Moabit spend their time sewing buttons on uniforms and crafting military leather helmets. They were kept in single cells under close supervision and could only see each other when walking in the yard once a day, but unable to talk to each other. Allied forces threats against Germany lead to Nazis taking a hard stance against those rebelling in occupied countries with increased arrests as well as death sentences. Law suits against the different resistance groups slowly come in, with Jaroslav and others mentioned as part of the “Samal mafia”. Premsyl Samal himself does not make it to trial, his health was severely impacted by his prison stay and he dies in Spring 1941.

Otilie is able to visit Jaroslav a few times during his stay at Moabit. They both use this opportunity to receive and send out reports about both the conditions in the prison as well as to receive news of what is happening in Prague, exchanging small scraps of paper with information written down while Jaroslav’s mother distracts the guards during their visit.

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war.

December 8th, 1941, Jaroslav and the others in the Samal group are put on trial. Jaroslav notes that the investigating judge for their case was also the sentencing judge, a move that was highly illegal and would not usually be done. The entire Nazi military school house nearby came to see their trial. Even though the Gestapo had uncovered very little about the group’s extensive underground activities, the sentence had already been decided and the trial was just a formality; all defensive witnesses were dismissed as irrelevant to the case and their lawyers had very little opportunity to speak for the men they were suppose to be defended. At the end of the trial, Jaroslav and his associates are all given death sentences and moved to Plötzensee death prison to await their fate.

Plötzensee was originally build during the 1860s and beginning in 1933 it was used for interrigations and exicutions of prisoners as well as a location political trials. Between 1933 and 1945, 2891 people were sentences to death and excecuted at the prison by guillotine or hangins. Plötzensee is a huge complex, with several “houses of death” for those awaiting execution. Prisoners are given ill fitting clothing, are beaten by guards and continuously reminded of their eventual fate. Windows in the cells do not close all the way and prisoners are subjected to extreame weather conditions as they await their deaths. While news was often able to be smuggled in to other prisons, at Plötzensee, prisoners resort to reading old newspapers used in the toliets or communicating with new prisoners for any news outside the wall of the prison.

As the Samal group is being moved to Plötzensee, President Benes assassination plan is being put into action. Known as Operation Anthropod, Josef Gabcik and Jan Kubis are trained by British intelligence and military to parachute in to occupied Czechoslovakia in order to carry out the assassination of Reinhard Heydrick. They parachute into the country where Gabcik is injured when landing and errors in their landing zone leave them cut off from their contact. By chance they are found by a man with connections to the underground in Prague, who gets them set up with appropriate papers in a safe house (MacDonald 1998:120).

1942

Following her husband’s trial and ultimate death sentence, Otilie and the children continue to live in their apartment in Prague. Conditions in the city continue to worsen, with food becoming more and more scarce, leaving Otilie (and many other Prauge residents) to travel to the countryside to smuggle food back to Prague. Unable to help the resistance in other ways, Otilie begins renting out part of the floor and apartment to Jewish families no one else would help.

“This again was against Nazi regulations, but it was our way to help.” Otilie Cebe-Habersky

Twice Otilie is able to receive a 24 hour travel visa to be able to go see Jaroslav in Plötzensee. Both times she traveled all day for the chance to be able to visit with her husband for ten minuets before traveling through the night back to Prague before her visa expired. Jaroslav’s mother traveled with her, once again distracting the guards so that Jarsolave is able to pass reports about the prison to Otilie and she is able to give him reports of what is happening in Prague.

By February, Plötzensee has become so overcrowded that Jaroslav and his fellow prisoners are now forced to stay two to a cell, something that made imprisonment much more bearable. Disease is common within the prison and Nazi guards often poison the food prisoners are given; the prisoners themselves pass the time talking, communicating with eachother through the walls and reading books they are allowed to borrow from the prison library. Jaroslav mentions their communications with fellow prisoners and the outside world being added with the help of a kind priest, Father Luhow, who helped pass notes, bring news of what was happening in the war and back home in Prague. Father Luhow also reports which prisoners have been executed and at times is able to forewarn prisoners of their impending executions so they have time to write their last letters to their family members (Cebe-Habersky).

On March 1st, for the first time since they parachuted in to the area, Gabcik and Kubis are able to get in touch with London and that they are planning to move forward with the assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich. When the underground resistance learns of this plan, they are appaled and asked for Operation Anthropod to be canceled, fearing the fall out and restibution from the Nazi regime if the attempt is successful. President Benes does not cancel the order, but also does not confirm it and Gabcik and Kubis continue to move forward with preparations.

April 12th, tragedy strikes the family as Karel Kuchar, Otilie’s father dies of a heart attack at age 53. Otilie’s mother is left in shock and unable to function for months, leaving Otilie to take care of her and the children without any help. Otilie refuses to tell Jaroslav what happened during her next visit as she wanted to keep him strong as he awaited death with dignity.

On May 27th, the assassination attempt is carried out. When Heydrich’s car rounds a corner, Gabcik jumps out, pulling his gun, which then jams. Heydrich stands up, pulling his pistol, giving Kubis time to attempt to throw a bomb into the car. The bomb misses, exploding the rear wheel of the car, sending up shrapnel that hits Heydrich, who suffers broken ribs, a ruptured diahragm and shrapnel in his spleen. Although not killed outright, Heydrich eventually surcomes to his wounds and died June 4th, 1942. The assassins are eventually sold out by another Czech resistance operative and killed.

In retaliation for Heydrich’s death, Nazi officals under the guidance of SS Officer Karl Frank raze and destroy the village of Lidice. It is unknown why Nazi officals selected Lidice, a small Czech village 12 miles otuside of Prague, as there was no connection between the village or the assassins. The men of Lidice were rounded up and shot, the women and children were deported to concentration camps and the town was burned to the ground. Of the 89 children that were gathered from Lidice, 9 of the children were selected and sent to a group home to be adopted and raised as German citizens.

Along with the razing of Lidice, many other Czech citizens were rounded up and shot or deported to concentration camps. Among them was Jaromir Samal, Jaroslav’s brother-in-law and Chancelor Premsyl Samal’s son, despite not having any connection to the resistance.

“…now it was he who left us and died, althought there was not the slightest thing which the Gestapo could produce against him. His only crime was that he was Chancelor Samal’s son.” Jaroslav or Otilie??

Mila, Jaroslav’s sister and Jaromir Samal’s wife, went to Gestapo headquarters to ask about what had happened to her husband after he disappeared from their apartment. She was arrested and sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and eventually to Auschwitz. Mila and Jaromir’s two children, Jiri and Alena were kidnapped by the Gestapo after her arrest and the family was unable to find out where the children had been taken.

Within Plötzensee

1943

1944

1945

End of the war and beginning with United Nations