An aristocrat, diplomat and poet in the service of the republic: The story of Count František Bořek-Dohalský from Dohalice (1887–1951) Cover Image

Šlechtic, diplomat a básník ve službách republiky: příběh Františka hraběte Bořka-Dohalského z Dohalic (1887–1951)
An aristocrat, diplomat and poet in the service of the republic: The story of Count František Bořek-Dohalský from Dohalice (1887–1951)

Author(s): Zdeněk Hazdra
Subject(s): Politics, Recent History (1900 till today), International relations/trade, 19th Century, Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů
Keywords: aristocracy;František Bořek-Dohalský;persecution;nazism;II Warld War;

Summary/Abstract: This study looks at the life of František Bořek-Dohalský from Dohalice, a member of the aristocratic Bořek-Dohalský family from Dohalice, who deviates considerably from commonly held notions about the nobility in modern Czech history as well as from the ranks of the aristocracy itself. Despite the abolition of privileges and the noble status in 1918, the Dohalský family positively accepted the establishment of an independent Czechoslovak state in the autumn of 1918. They identified with its ideals and became part of the governing civilian elite. František entered the service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked as a diplomat at the embassies in London and Vienna. In Austria, he was caught off balance by the advent of fascism and the subsequent anschluss with Nazi Germany. In September 1939, he signed the so-called “National Declaration of the Czech Nobility” in which he aligned himself with opposition to the occupying power and declared full allegiance to Czech customs and aspirations along with approximately 80 other aristocrats. He joined the anti-Nazi resistance together with his two brothers – Zdeněk, a journalist with the Lidové noviny newspaper, and Antonín, St. Vitus’ canon and archbishop’s chancellor (whom this article also devotes attention to). He was imprisoned for his democratic convictions and spent three years at Dachau concentration camp. Both his siblings, however, did not survive the war. Antonín perished in Auschwitz in September 1942, and Zdeněk was executed in Terezín’s Small Fortress (Malá pevnost) in February 1945. After being released from captivity, František Bořek-Dohalský returned to diplomacy and became Czechoslovakia’s ambassador in Vienna. Naturally, as a result of the communist putsch in February 1948 and the establishment of a communist monopoly of power, his work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs soon came to an end (although it also ended because of his poor health). The impact of communist persecution also weighed very heavily on the life of František’s son Jiří, who was a clerk in the Office of the President of the Republic. He was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment in a politically motivated trial. František did not live long enough to hear the verdict imposed on his son. He died in Prague on 3 January 1951. The fate of František-Bořek Dohalský and his family illustrates a unique union between a noble family and democratic ideals. The members of this family also did not hesitate to lay down their lives for these ideals during periods of totalitarian rule.

  • Issue Year: 2011
  • Issue No: 18
  • Page Range: 10-41
  • Page Count: 32
  • Language: Czech