The biography of the brave Czechoslovak Štefan Mazák reads like a novel. His complicated journey to freedom from the harsh communist Czechoslovakia after February 1948, military training overseas, meeting the Mašín brothers, but above all his incredibly courageous actions, when he rescued captured hostages and fellow combatants from hopeless situations on various battlefields around the world, is shown in an exhibition at the Envelopa Office Center.
The exhibition commemorates the forgotten story of courage and heroism of one of the Czechoslovak citizens. Štefan Mazák, who chose to emigrate to the free United States rather than live in communist Czechoslovakia, is perhaps better known overseas today than in his homeland, the country of his ancestors.
Panels and display cases with many period artifacts offered visitors a detailed description of the life of this little-known hero. The narrative was complemented by a number of items commemorating his service in the US Army in the 1950s and 1960s. Štefan Mazák, who was also a friend of the Mašín brothers, underwent rigorous military training. He then applied the military skills he had acquired, together with his moral principles and extraordinary courage, during a secret operation in the African Congo, for example, when he saved his entire unit during the evacuation of wounded missionaries from a remote village. He performed similar heroic deeds on the battlefield in Vietnam. It is no wonder that he received a number of foreign military decorations. In the last action of his life, even after being wounded, he covered the retreat of his comrades until he himself fell.
The exhibition was part of the traditional Paschalia Olomucensia festival, initiated by Olomouc MP Martin Major, and attended by MEP Alexandr Vondra.
