This day in history, March 14, 1939, my father served as he had for the previous seventeen months as a Czechoslovak Army soldier protecting his country in Carpathian Ruthenia in the easternmost Slovakian region. On that day, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia. Born Oswald “Valdik” Holzer in 1911 when his country was a part of Austria-Hungary, Dad grew up in the Czechoslovak First Republic. On this day at that moment, Dad knew he was being forced to live under Nazi tyranny. He had no intention of doing so. Soon after the news arrived, his army unit relocated to the town of Prešov awaiting the Nazi decision as to what they would do with the Czech soldiers. It was the beginning of a string of decisions that my young dad would make that changed his life forever. Some three months hence, he would arrive in China. His journey had begun as an adventurer against his will.
Adventurers Against Their Will: Extraordinary World War II Stories of Survival, Escape, and Connection, Unlike Any Other
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Based on her father’s collection of 400 old letters, Adventurers Against Their Will is the deeply personal account of a daughter’s investigative journey to locate the Czech correspondents and their descendants around the world.
MY DEAR BOY: A World War II Story of Escape, Exile, and Revelation
Adventurers Against Their Will
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