Antimony - Stanislava Srazil

The memorial plaque to Stanislav Srazil in Horní Ředice commemorates one of three Czechoslovak paratroopers of Operation Antimony, a wartime mission sent from Britain into occupied Bohemia during the Second World War. The plaque was mounted on a building in the village in 1994, decades after the war, as a local tribute to a soldier connected to this area.

Who was Stanislav Srazil?

Stanislav Srazil was born on 7 May 1919 in Pohránov near Dašice, close to the village where his memorial now stands. During the war he joined the Czechoslovak armed forces operating abroad and trained as a wireless radio operator — a skill that made him essential for maintaining contact between the resistance movement at home and the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London.

What was Operation Antimony?

Antimony was one of several parachute operations organized by Czechoslovak military intelligence in cooperation with Britain's Special Operations Executive. Alongside Srazil, the three-man group included František Zázvorka and Lubomír Jasínek. Their task was to make contact with resistance groups inside Bohemia, deliver radio equipment, and restore wireless communication with London that had broken down after earlier arrests and the collapse of previous networks. Within the group, Srazil served as deputy commander and cipher operator, placing him at the center of efforts to keep transmitted intelligence secure.

How did the mission end?

On 16 January 1943, Srazil was arrested by German security police in Horní Kalné under circumstances that remain unclear to this day. Following his capture, the Germans forced him to take part in a so-called radio game — a deception operation codenamed Hermelín, in which captured transmitters were used to send falsified messages to London in order to mislead Czechoslovak intelligence and expose further resistance groups. Srazil was the last of the three Antimony members to remain in German hands. He was eventually transferred to the Small Fortress in Terezín, where he was executed on 20 April 1944.

Why is this place worth a stop?

The plaque in Horní Ředice is a modest but meaningful marker of wartime Czechoslovak resistance — one of many such memorials scattered across the country honoring the individuals behind clandestine operations against the occupation. For anyone interested in the history of the Second World War and the fate of paratroopers dropped in from Britain, it offers a direct link between the dry facts of an intelligence mission and the personal story of a man tied to this specific region.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the plaque located? On a building in the village of Horní Ředice, in the Pardubice Region of eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic.

When was the plaque unveiled? In 1994.

Who was Stanislav Srazil? A Czechoslovak soldier, radio operator, and deputy commander of the three-man Antimony parachute group, executed by the Germans in 1944 at Terezín.

What was Operation Antimony? A parachute mission organized from London to restore radio communication support for the Czechoslovak resistance in occupied Bohemia.