Czech WWII fighter ace, Frantisek Fajtl, dies at age 94 - iht,europe,Czech Obit Fajtl - Europe - International Herald Tribune PRAGUE, Czech Republic Czech WWII fighter ace Gen.
Frantisek Fajtl, who fought against Nazi Germany in the French and
British air forces died Wednesday, an official said. He was 94.

Fajtl, who was born Aug. 20, 1912, fled Czechoslovakia, which was occupied by Nazi troops, in 1939. He joined France's air force, and after the country capitulated, he fled to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. His plane was shot down over northern France in May, 1942. Fajtl escaped to Spain, where he was captured and arrested. He was released after London intervened and returned to Britain. He then left the RAF in 1944 to help build the Czechoslovakian fighter squadron in the Soviet Union.

But back at home, he was arrested as an enemy of state by the Communist regime in 1950, and spent 17 months in prison. After he was released, he was given only menial jobs.

His reputation was fully rehabilitated after the 1989 collapse of the communist regime, and in 2004 he was awarded the highest Czech order — the White Lion order.

This is a typical story of many Czech pilots who fought against Hitler in the British Forces. A similar story was told in the 2001 Czech film Tmavomodrý svět but it was even reflected in communist-time TV dramas, such as the 1984 11-part series Sanitka albeit with a predictably different slant.