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[[Royal Air Force]]
|serviceyears= 1935–48
|rank= [[Major (rank)|Major]]
|unit= 5th Sqn, 2nd Aviation Regt<br>
33rd Fighter Squadron<br>
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[[No. 242 Squadron RAF]]
|commands=
|battles=
{{tree list}} * [[World War II]] ** [[Circus offensive
** [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]]
{{tree list/end}}
|awards= [[Order of the British Empire#Current classes|Member of Order of the British Empire]]<br>[[Order of the White Lion]] (posthumous)<br>
[[Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945]] × 2<br>
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|laterwork=
}}
'''Josef Bryks''', [[Order of the British Empire#Current classes|MBE]], ({{IPA
In 1940 he escaped the [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia]] and joined the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]]. In 1941 he was shot down over [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German-occupied France]].
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Bryks was a prisoner of war for four years, in which time he escaped and was recaptured three times. After his third escape he served in the Polish [[Home Army]] in [[Warsaw]], where he helped to get supplies to Jewish resistance fighters in the [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]].
After his third recapture Bryks was moved to [[Stalag Luft III]] where he helped in [[Stalag Luft III#The "Great Escape" (1944)|
In 1945 Bryks returned to [[Third Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] and his [[Czechoslovak Air Force]] career. However, after the [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état]] the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia|Communists]] purged Bryks and many other officers who had served in [[Czechoslovak government-in-exile|Free Czechoslovak]] units under French or UK command.
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On 20 January 1940, Bryks escaped from Bohemia and Moravia. He passed illegally through [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovakia]] and into [[Hungary in World War II|Hungary]]. He was arrested in Hungary on 26 January and held in jail in [[Budapest]] until 4 April, when he was [[Extradition|extradited]] to Slovakia. He escaped, traveled through Hungary again, reached [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], and on 17 April 1940 he reported to the French Consulate in [[Belgrade]].<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
From there, Bryks travelled through [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]] and [[Turkey]] to [[French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French-ruled Syria]], where he embarked on a ship to France. The ship reached France on 10 May, the day Germany
===Royal Air Force (1940–41)===
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====Hurricane pilot with 242 Squadron====
[[File:Hurricane IIBs 601 Sqn RAF in flight 1941.jpg|thumb|[[Hawker Hurricane variants#
On 23 April 1941, Bryks was at last posted to a combat squadron. He spoke good English thanks to his secondary school studies in Olomouc. He was posted not to one of the RAF's Czechoslovak squadrons but to [[No. 242 Squadron RAF]], which was commanded by [[Douglas Bader]] and had a large [[Canada|Canadian]] contingent. At the time, it flew [[Hawker Hurricane variants#
When Bryks joined 242 Squadron, it was based at [[Stapleford Aerodrome#Second World War|RAF Stapleford Tawney]] in [[Essex]]. While he was with the squadron it was transferred to [[North Weald Airfield|RAF North Weald]], also in Essex. Bryks became friends with a [[Women's Auxiliary Air Force|WAAF]], Gertrude "Trudie" Dellar, who was the widow of an RAF pilot.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-676-7974-13, Flugzeuge Messerschmitt Me 109.jpg|thumb|A formation of [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] fighters]]
242 Squadron's rôle was changed to [[Circus offensive]]s over [[German-occupied Europe]], escorting RAF bombers with the purpose of
The RAF raiders managed to shoot down only three Bf 109s. One of these was downed by Bryks, but then three Bf 109s attacked his Hurricane, hitting its fuel tank and setting it afire. Bryks suffered burns to his face and ankle, and his cockpit filled with smoke. He bailed out at an altitude of {{convert|10000|ft}}, about {{convert|15|km|0|abbr=off}} west of [[Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée]], losing one of his flying boots as he did so.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
===Prisoner of war (1941–45)===
Bryks landed safely and started to bury his parachute. Frenchmen who had seen him descend gave him a civilian coat to hide his RAF uniform and told him to
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was subject to [[Nazi Germany]], whose authorities deemed anyone from the protectorate who served in [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces to be a [[treason|traitor]]. He could therefore be executed, and his family would suffer reprisals. Therefore, Bryks assumed the identity of "Joseph Ricks", born in 1918 in [[Cirencester]],<ref name=FCAFA-2011/> a Gloucestershire [[market town]] about {{convert|8|km|0|abbr=off}} from where he had been spent two months at RAF Kemble.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
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[[File:Schloss-Spangenberg Germany October-2010 Front-View.jpg|thumb|[[Spangenberg]] castle in Hesse, where Bryks was held in [[Oflag IX-A/H]] from June to October 1941]]
On 22 June, Bryks was transferred from Dulag Luft to [[Oflag IX-A/H]] in [[Spangenberg]] castle in [[Hesse-Nassau]]. Here he advised the Senior British Officer (SBO), [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Victor Fortune]], of his true identity. Fortune knew the threat to Czechoslovak pilots in captivity
====Escape from Oflag VI-B====
On 8 October 1941, Bryks was transferred to [[Oflag VI-B]] at [[Dössel]] in [[Westphalia]]. There again he advised the SBO of his true identity. The PoWs' Escape Committee authorised a team of four men, including Bryks, to dig a {{convert|10|m|adj=on}} escape tunnel through frozen clay. On the night of 19/20 April 1942, three Poles and three Czechoslovaks escaped through the tunnel in pairs. Bryks was one of them, paired with a fellow Czechoslovak, [[Flight lieutenant|Flight Lieutenant]] Otakar Černý.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
[[File:Otakar.Cerny.(1919-2009).Air.Force.Captain.1946.gif|thumb|upright|
Bryks and Černý aimed to reach [[Switzerland during the World Wars#World War II|Switzerland]]. Around midnight on 28 April, Černý was recaptured near [[Marburg]] in Hesse-Nassau. Near [[Giessen]] in [[People's State of Hesse|Hesse-Darmstadt]], Bryks stole a bicycle. He passed [[Offenbach am Main]]. A German guard shot at him as he crossed a bridge near [[Stuttgart]] in [[Free People's State of Württemberg|Württemberg]]. After this, short of food and water, Bryks fell ill with [[dysentery]]. He hid in a wood near [[Eberbach (Baden)|Eberbach]] in [[Republic of Baden|Baden]]. There, on 31 April, a group of [[Hitler Youth]] captured him.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
Bryks had been on the run for 11 days and had travelled {{convert|300|km|abbr=off}} south from Dössel before being caught. On 5 May 1942, he was taken to [[Darmstadt]] and held by the [[Gestapo]]. He was returned to Oflag VI-B at Dössel, where he was treated in the camp's
====Escape from Oflag VI-A====
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====Escape from Oflag XXI-B====
On 4 March 1943, Polish workers in the camp helped Bryks and a British officer, Squadron Leader Morris, to escape. The pair hid in a sewage tank that was mounted on a cart to empty the camp's latrines, wearing masks to try to protect them from the sewage. Members of the secret ''Armia Krajowa'' ("[[Home Army]]" or AK) hid them in a farmhouse. There they met Flight Lieutenant Černý, who had escaped
Morris fell ill, but Bryks and Černý set off on foot. In three weeks, they covered the {{convert|280|km|abbr=off}} to Warsaw, where on 6 April they reported to an address that the AK had given them. Bryks assumed a Polish identity, calling himself "Josef Brdnisz". He and Černý spent four weeks in Warsaw disguised as a pair of stove fitters and chimney sweeps. They drove a horse and cart around Warsaw, supplying arms to resistance groups and bringing in food from the countryside.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
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====Unmasked and interrogated====
[[File:Pečkův palác sídlo pražského gestapa.gif|thumb|upright|[[Petschek Palace]] in Prague, the Gestapo headquarters where Bryks was held and interrogated]]
In July 1944, the RAF promoted Bryks to flight lieutenant. Unfortunately the official letter sent from the UK
The Gestapo interrogated Bryks, told him his family in Bohemia and Moravia had been arrested and that he would be executed for treason. On 1 September 1944, he was brought to Gestapo headquarters in [[Petschek Palace]] in Prague. In due course, he was also held at [[Pankrác Prison]] and [[Loreta (Prague)|Loreta]] military prison. Twenty-three other Czechoslovak members of the RAFVR were also being held in these prisons. They were repeatedly interrogated and told that under [[German military law#Nazi Germany|German military law]] they were traitors and would be executed.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
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Through the Red Cross, the [[Churchill war ministry|British Government]] was told that Germany was threatening to execute the Czechoslovak airmen. The United Kingdom replied through the same channel. As the Czechoslovak airmen were UK armed forces personnel, the UK demanded that Germany afford them the same rights and protections as any other PoWs from the UK. [[Winston Churchill]] threatened that if Germany executed any of them, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] would execute 10 ''Luftwaffe'' airmen for each Czechoslovak killed.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
Germany did not revoke the threat of execution, but the Gestapo did return the Czechoslovaks to PoW camps. On 22 September 1944, Bryks was
====Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle and liberation====
[[File:PicOf 4C Colditz.jpg|thumb|In his last six months as a PoW Bryks was held at [[Oflag IV-C]] in [[Colditz Castle]] in [[Saxony]].]]
Because of his injuries from Gestapo interrogations, Bryks appeared before an international medical board on 6 November. The board deemed that he should be [[Repatriation|repatriated]] to the UK on medical grounds, but the German authorities refused because he was still accused of treason.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
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==In Czechoslovakia from 1945==
[[File:Josef.Bryks.(1916-1957).Trudie.Bryksova.(1920–2011).Olomouc.1947.gif|thumb|Trudie and Josef Bryks in [[Olomouc]] in 1947]]
On 6 October 1945, Bryks returned to Czechoslovakia with his second wife Gertrude. He resumed his Czechoslovak Air Force career, but his injuries, and particularly his hearing loss,<ref name=Praha14/> prevented him from serving as a pilot. He was posted to the Military Aviation Academy at Olomouc, where he taught English and the theory of flight. He was promoted to [[Captain (armed forces)|captain]] in September 1945, [[Staff captain#Czechoslovakia|staff captain]] in December 1945 and [[Major (rank)|major]] in May 1946.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/wo373.asp |title=Recommendations for military honours and awards 1935-1990 |author=[[War Office]]: [[Directorate of Military Intelligence (United Kingdom)|Directorate of Military Intelligence]] (1945–1946) |id=WO 344/45/2 |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |accessdate=14 November 2009}} (search for "Bryks")</ref> Also in 1946, Gertrude bore Bryks a daughter, Sonia.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
In April 1946, [[Ealing Studios]] released [[Basil Dearden]]'s war film ''[[The Captive Heart]]''. In it, [[Michael Redgrave]] played a Czechoslovak officer based on Bryks, [[Rachel Kempson]]
===Persecution===
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===Uranium mine and death===
Finally he was moved to a prison in [[Ostrov (Karlovy Vary District)|Ostrov nad Ohří]] in western [[Bohemia]] and made to work in a [[Uranium mining by country#Czech Republic|uranium mine]] called ''Rovnost'' (The Czech word for "Equality"). Here prisoners were paid a small wage for their work. Bryks worked hard, exceeding his work quotas, and sent his wage to help support his sick father and his wife and daughter. But in December 1955, the Communists banned Bryks from sending money to his family.<ref name=FCAFA-2011/>
[[File:Josef Bryks 4.jpg|thumb|Interior Ministry note dated 12 August 1957 recording Bryks' death]]
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In 2006, a court in Prague finally exonerated him of his false convictions.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/tema/zpravy/czech-raf-pilot-widow-s-compensation-claim-returns-to-beginning/361968&id_seznam=5109 |title=Czech RAF pilot widow's compensation claim returns to beginning |publisher=České Noviny |date=23 February 2009 |accessdate=13 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606033330/http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/tema/zpravy/czech-raf-pilot-widow-s-compensation-claim-returns-to-beginning/361968%26id_seznam%3D5109 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://old.radio.cz/en/news/78649 |title=Prague court exonerates pilot victim of Communist show trials |publisher=[[Radio Prague]] |date=6 May 2006 |accessdate=13 November 2009}}</ref>
On 28 October 2006, the [[Czech Republic]] gave Bryks its highest award, the [[Order of the White Lion]], military division, 2nd class.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hrad.cz/en/czech-republic/state-decorations/order-of-the-white-lion/list.shtml |title=List of Honoured |publisher=Prague Castle |accessdate=13 November 2009}}</ref> In 2008 the Czech Republic posthumously promoted Bryks to [[
Two streets are named after Bryks: one in the [[Černý Most]] suburb of Prague and the other in Slavonín on the edge of Olomouc.<ref>{{cite web |date=16 March 2006 |url= http://www.olomouc.eu/phprs/view.php?cisloclanku=2006022406 |title=Olomouc má nové názvy ulic |accessdate=12 November 2009}}</ref>
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