Josef Kholl (1914-1944)

Genmjr. in mem. Josef Kholl was born on 22 July 1914 in Plavsko near Stráž na Nežárkou. A hero of Czechoslovakia in memoriam, an important figure of the anti-fascist resistance during World War II at home and in Czechoslovak foreign units in the West and East.

Brief characteristics. In nearby Bohutín he attended a municipal and then a burgher school and in Příbram from 1926 to 1933 he studied at the real school where he graduated. After completing his military service, he began his studies at the Military Academy in Hranice. After his discharge at the rank of lieutenant, he joined Infantry Regiment 38 in Beroun in 1936. After Hitler's occupation of his homeland on 15 March 1939, he left the army and was recruited for an administrative post at the then Ministry of Social Affairs. Immediately afterwards, he became involved in the construction of the illegal military resistance organization Obrana naroda (Defence of the Nation) in Beroun and played the role of a liaison between groups in Beroun, Rakovnik and Příbram. After the Gestapo infiltrated the illegal network of the resistance organisation, he decided to go into exile in March 1940. Through Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey and Syria he reached Palestine, where he was at the birth of the Czechoslovak military foreign unit under the command of the legendary Colonel Karel Klapalek. Here he served in command positions and took part in all the major battles in the Middle East and North Africa, and from 1943, after his transfer, also on the Soviet front. He distinguished himself in the fighting in the Western Desert during the Syrian campaign at Tobruk, participated in the liberation of Kiev, Zhashkov, White Church. On 22 September 1944 he died a heroic death as commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 1st Czechoslovak Brigade of the 1st Czechoslovak Brigade. Army Corps at Dukla. He was decorated with a number of Czechoslovakian medals. and allied decorations.

Name of gen. in mem. Josef Kholl is connected with several places of the Central Bohemian Region - Příbram, Beroun, Rakovnick. He is one of the most famous commanders of Czechoslovak foreign troops during World War II and a hero of the anti-fascist resistance. This personality was indelibly inscribed in the history of the Czechoslovak military.

He was killed on 22 September 1944 at Trigonometer 694 near Dukla in Poland, buried in Rakovník.

Elaborated by: PaedDr. Josef Velfl, Director of the Mining Museum Příbram