This idea was highlighted by Masaryk University Rector Martin Bareš at the opening of this year’s seventh Masaryk Days at the Technical Museum in Brno, during the launch of the exhibition 312th and 311th Squadrons in Ladislav Sitenský’s Backlight. He stressed that freedom and democracy are never guaranteed – and history has repeatedly shown us that they can be easily lost.
Knights of the skies in backlight
This year, Masaryk Days also tells a powerful visual story about the courage to resist oppression and the desire for freedom. During WWII, Ladislav Sitenský documented Czechoslovak pilots serving in the RAF – men who did not hesitate to go into exile and risk their lives. The exhibition was prepared by Sitenský’s granddaughter Adéla Kándlová, who selected the photographs and helped install the exhibition at the Technical Museum in Brno.
“Each of us must contribute in our own way. Ladislav Sitenský left an extraordinary legacy, and his granddaughter Adéla has given us the chance to look into history through her grandfather’s photographs, which show real-life heroes who did not hesitate to sacrifice the most precious thing a person can give,” said Rector Martin Bareš.
The exhibition has found a fitting home at the Technical Museum in Brno, which has long focused on aviation and space exploration. “Aviation history naturally belongs here,” said Josef Večeře, Deputy Director of the museum for science and technology, during the opening. He also recalled the remarkable role played by Czechoslovak pilots in the Battle of Britain, in protecting the Atlantic convoys and during the Normandy landings.
From the Munich Agreement to the Battle of Britain
Historian Vladimír Černý, Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations and European Studies at the Faculty of Social Studies, also provided some historical context. He noted that after the Munich Agreement in 1938 – which provided for the German annexation of part of the then-Czechoslovak Republic – and then with even more certainty after the full-scale German occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, hundreds of Czechoslovak pilots decided they would not serve the Nazi regime. Many left via Poland for France, some even travelling as far as North Africa. After France fell in 1940, nearly nine hundred continued to Great Britain, where Czechoslovak RAF squadrons – both fighter and bomber – were formed. They took part in the Battle of Britain, in the defence of the British Isles, in Operation Overlord and in anti-submarine operations over the Atlantic.
In total, about two and a half thousand pilots served in the foreign resistance and 505 of them were killed. Yet their courage did not bring them automatic recognition after the war. After the Communist party seized power in the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, many faced persecution, imprisonment or forced labour. Full rehabilitation and recognition came only after the democratic Velvet Revolution in 1989 – and not all lived to see it. “And what is the lesson for today? Even a relatively small group of brave people can achieve great things. They stood up to the regime and eventually prevailed,” said Vladimír Černý.
The photographer who wanted to fly
Ladislav Sitenský carried two passions in his heart – photography and flying. At the opening, his granddaughter, architect Adéla Kándlová, thanked him for his courage and for the idea and energy that ultimately made the exhibition possible.
In retelling the story of her grandfather’s life, she said that he began photographing at the age of thirteen and soon published his first pictures. After finishing secondary school, he wanted to study at an art academy but eventually chose architecture. A turning point came in August 1939, after the outbreak of war. Instead of continuing his studies, he joined the Czechoslovak army abroad. In the air force he qualified as a photographer and documented training as well as the everyday life of pilots.
He himself longed to fly and applied to pilot school, but his superiors did not allow it. As RAF Marshal and Inspector General of the Czechoslovak Air Force in the UK Karel Janoušek reportedly told him: “I can always get more good pilots, but I only have one photographer,” said Adéla Kándlová.
“The pilots fought with the control stick – my grandfather fought with a camera,” she added, noting that his photographs have artistic as well as documentary value. Sitenský liked to photograph in backlight, which is reflected in the title of the exhibition. It will remain on display at the Technical Museum in Brno until 30 June.
Winton: Two exhibitions, one story
Unexpected parallels between Sitenský’s exhibition and the life of Sir Nicholas Winton were revealed during the first day of Masaryk Days by the event’s main guest, Nicholas Winton Jr, who noted that his father was an enthusiastic amateur photographer and also served in the RAF. Winton went on to describe photography as something magical that also played a role in rescuing the “Winton children”.
“As you all know, one of the tasks in 1939 was to find families willing to take in the children who were fleeing Czechoslovakia. My father took advantage of his interest in photography and, instead of trying to tell a complicated story, he sent photographs – pictures of the children. Instead of the abstract idea that ‘I might save a child’, people could see that ‘this child, with this expression and these features, could become part of my family’. That made the connection much quicker and easier. A photograph can tell a whole story in a single image,” Winton explained, adding: “Ladislav Sitenský photographed in a remarkable way, something my father could never have done, but he used his photographic skills for a completely different purpose.”
Winton Jr also revealed a lesser-known fact: that his father also served in the RAF. Like Sitenský, he dreamed of flying but ultimately remained in service on the ground. He also helped organise a photographic exhibition about pilots.
“After a short period with a rescue service in Normandy, my father joined the RAF. He was a pilot and thought he would go into combat. But they did not like his eyesight, so he was not allowed to fly in battle. Instead, he trained pilots in instrument flying. For night-flying training they used a device that was revolutionary at the time: an American invention called the Link Trainer, an early type of flight simulator,” Winton Jr explained.
Towards the end of the war, Sir Nicholas Winton received a rather unusual assignment, one that remains little known even in the UK. He became the commander of a travelling exhibition designed to present the work of the RAF through photographs, models and demonstrations of technology.
“The exhibition once again showed the participation of different countries and their pilots in the liberation of Europe,” Winton Jr said. After Brussels, Paris, Lyon, The Hague and Oslo, his father brought the exhibition to Prague in December 1945.
“The circle closed. He returned to the place where he had been six years earlier, when he was rescuing children, this time with an RAF exhibition full of photographs showing what Allied and overseas soldiers, including the Czechs, had done during the war,” said Winton Jr and noted that General Ludvík Svoboda highlighted the role of Czechoslovak pilots at the time.
“Two exhibitions – one today and another eighty years ago. One organised by my father and now this one showcasing photographs by Ladislav Sitenský. Photographs are not just documents. They connect with us in ways that words simply cannot,” Winton Jr concluded.
Photo gallery:
