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Pilot 1924

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Commander of fast division in Ukraine 1943

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Slovak plane He-111 at Krym. It belonged to a type that modernized Slovak Air Force. Gen. Stefan Jurech (left) together with German officer.

 

WHO WAS GENERAL STEFAN JURECH?

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Bosaca 1904
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Volunteer Army 1916
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Student at Fontainebleau, France 1918-1922

Stefan Jurech was born in Bosaca, Trencin's County on June 9, 1898. He was open and honest person, body, and spirit soldier, one could say from his own conviction not from profession. He put on soldier's uniform first time during WW I During the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy he was absolvent of one year army volunteer officer's school and then as a soldier went through fronts in Romania, Italy, and France. Later he becomes an officer of the Czechoslovak army a graduate from French Army University in Fontainebleau. He graduated from Army University in 1932. In the first years of existence of the Slovak State during the WW II he became army Attaché in Budapest, Hungary. After finishing this mission he becomes a Commander of the Air Defenses stationed in Trencin. In 1942 he was named the Commander of the Slovak Armored Division (RD) on the eastern front. Shortly after his arrival in the Soviet Union he made contact with the Soviet command in order to make it possible for the Armored division to defect to the Soviet side. These negotiations weren’t completed and the planned mass defection of the complete Armored Division (RD) to the Soviet side in Kaukaz never became a reality. In 1943 he became General and since he wasn’t secretive about his anti fascist stand he was under suspicion by German Abwehr (German military police) for his contacts with the Soviet army and on September 26, 1943 was recalled from his commanding post at the Russian front. He returned to Slovakia where after investigation was named a Commander of Slovak Army Institute in Trencin. He made contact with the army resistance movement and together with Golian, Ferencik, Kiss, and Vesel was proposed in February 1944 in London to become commanders of the planned Slovak National Uprising. This proposal was never accepted nor confirmed.

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Pilot 1924

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Captain 1931

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Professor in Prague 1932
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With minister of defense
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In Kosice 1937
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With Chamberlain and Ribentrop in Budapest 1938
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In Banska Bystrica 1939
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In Bratislava 1940
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Commander
of fast division
1942 Caspian Sea
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Golian, Lisicky and Jurech
Imerinskaja 1943
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Last picture

Soon after the start of the Slovak National Uprising, General Stefan Jurech was taken by German intelligence forces first to Vienna, then Brno and finally to Germany where in liquidation camp Flosengurg near Berlin he was sentenced to death and executed on February 4, 1945.

His contribution and role in speeding the end of the WW II was ignored, yet he is one of the few Slovak Army high ranking officers who were sentenced to death and executed by Germans. In 1963 the citizens of Bosaca got together and collected money for monument for the fallen sons of the village. General Stefan Jurech is in the first place. General Stefan Jurech was finally completely rehabilitated in 1968.

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Celebration of his 100 birthday took place in Bosaca on May 31st, 1998.

If anybody from our readers have any information about General Stefan Jurech, please contact the editor.

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Published in the Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 6, No. 1, Spring 1998
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1998 
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express written permission of Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.