Vladimír Krajina

The Vladimír Krajina memorial plaque stands in Prague's New Town, on the building at Benátská Street that houses the Botanical Garden of Charles University. It commemorates a Czech botanist, ecologist and resistance hero whose life connected scientific research with one of the most dramatic chapters of twentieth-century Czechoslovak history.

Who was Vladimír Krajina?

Vladimír Josef Krajina was born in 1905 in Slavonice. He studied at Charles University in Prague, earning a doctorate cum laude in 1927 with a specialization in botany. Before the war he had already established himself as a respected researcher of plant vegetation.

What was his role in the resistance?

After the German occupation began in 1939, Krajina joined the underground and quickly became one of the leaders of Ústředí (the Political Centre), a clandestine organization coordinating resistance against the occupiers. He ran the illegal radio transmitter codenamed Sparta I, which kept the resistance in contact with the exiled government of President Edvard Beneš in London. His group is credited with sending around 20,000 radio messages to London, including intelligence about the planned invasions of the Balkans and the Soviet Union.

Following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, in whose preparation Krajina took part, the Gestapo's dragnet closed in on him. When he was finally arrested, his wife Marie was released, while he himself attempted suicide by swallowing a vial of arsenic — the poison had lost much of its potency because the container was not airtight, and he survived. He then spent 27 months imprisoned at the Terezín concentration camp, only released after the Red Army occupied Czechoslovakia in 1945.

Why did he emigrate to Canada?

After the war Krajina returned to scientific and political life, but the new communist regime proved just as dangerous as the earlier occupation — he was sentenced to death both by the Nazis and, later, by the communist authorities, which forced him into exile. In 1949 he settled in Vancouver, Canada, where he taught plant ecology at the University of British Columbia for the next 24 years.

It was in Canada that Krajina produced his most influential scientific achievement — a vegetation classification system based on biogeoclimatic zones, still used today as the basis for forest management in British Columbia and Alberta. He also drew on his political experience to lead a successful campaign that resulted in the creation of more than a hundred ecological reserves across British Columbia. He died in Vancouver in 1993, at the age of 88.

Where exactly is the plaque in Prague?

The bronze memorial plaque, featuring a relief portrait by artist Nina Jindřichová, was unveiled on 8 October 2002 on the initiative of Professor Jan Jeník, who also composed its inscription. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Václav Větvička, head of the Charles University Botanical Garden, Canadian ambassador to the Czech Republic Margaret Huber, representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and the Czech Botanical Society, and members of Krajina's family. The plaque is mounted on the building at Benátská 433/2, within the grounds of the botanical garden, and reads: "Prof. V. J. Krajina 1905–1993, botanist, politician, national hero."

Frequently asked questions

Who was Vladimír Krajina? A Czech botanist and ecologist who was also one of the leaders of the World War II resistance movement, and who later emigrated to Canada to continue his scientific career.

What was his connection to the Heydrich assassination? Krajina took part in preparations for the assassination as a member of the underground Ústředí organization, running radio communications with the exiled government in London; after the attack he was hunted by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Terezín.

Why did he leave Czechoslovakia for good? After the war the new communist regime sentenced him to death, just as the Nazis had before, so in 1949 he emigrated to Canada, where he taught at the University of British Columbia.

Where is the memorial plaque located in Prague? On the building at Benátská 433/2 in the New Town district, within the grounds of the Charles University Botanical Garden — unveiled in 2002.