Political Indoctrination
It was experienced by Cz airmen at the Kubinka air base seventy five years ago. Out of question in the RAF for them.
After their arrival from Tehran - HERE - they faced life in the USSR. Both during their ten-day stay in the Moscow National Hotel and their visit to the Bolshoi Theatre each of them was addressed by an young local girl. All girls had a bag of the NKVD style.
On pilots´ arriving at an EFTS of Ivanovo their lessons of theory were launched on Apr 13. Also here was each of them watched by a woman who belonged to a local NKVD unit.
Our pilots formed the Czechoslovak No 128 Fighter Sqn on May 3. Its CO was S/L Frank Fajtl[Faytl]. His Deputy S/L John Klan[Klahn] and Chief of Staff F/Lt Stan Rejthar [Raytar]. Both the flights were commanded by F/Os Stehlik and Chabera [Staehleek Khahberra] Threre were ten pilots in each flight including two Slovaks F/Sgts Marusek and Dobrovodsky who came on May 9. These two members of No 13 Slovakian Flight belonging to No 52 Jagdgruppe of the Luftwaffe had flown Me 109Gs from July 7, 1943. On Sep 9 both deserted to the Red Army with their fighter planes equipped by a new type of radio.
Mid May all the pilots of No 128 Sqn were flown to an air base of Kubinka. They listened to a lecture what evetything splendid in the USSR was. Soviet propaganda of a marx-stalin style. The Sqn was visited by so called politruks here. Reicin and Prochazka came to indoctrinate also this unit.
NOTES :
1/ General Reicin became No 1 Foe to all the former RAF members following the Feb 25, 1948
Communist Coup.
2/ Politruk is a term of a Russian origin ie Political Leader. Such an officer was in each company
within the Army of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic during the 1948 – 1990 time frame.
R&R :
Good Men in Arms lost their Lives by Stan Rejthar The OSTROV Publ 2002