Individual Details

Sgt Emil Türkl

(24 Aug 1922 - 13 Oct 1942)

SGT Emil Turkl Birth: 24 Aug 1922 Czech Republic; Death: 13 Oct 1942 (aged 20) Derbyshire, England
Burial" St Paul's Churchyard, Scropton,
South Derbyshire District, Derbyshire, England
Plot Extn. Grave 105
Memorial ID 176066450 · View Source
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 27 O.T.U.
Service Number 787909.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176066450/emil-turkl

According to the archive documents at the Military Historical Archives in Prague – 2), Erno Türkl, presented himself to the Recruiting Board of the Czechoslovak Embassy in London on 3rd June 1941: born 24th Aug 1922 in Děčín, domiciled in Olomouc, single, atheist, of Czech nationality, occupation clerk, and offered his services to the Czechoslovak army in exile.

There are web pages on this chap e.g

https://www.vets.cz/vpm/6935-pametni-deska-emil-turkl/

https://fcafa.com/2012/08/27/emil-turkl-remembered/

https://fcafa.com/2013/08/16/emil-turkl-the-story-of-one-family/

The history of Türkl family is closely tied with the towns of Olomouc and Prostějov. The oldest document found, is a police registration card dated 4 October 1909, when his father Viktor Türkl, born 8 November 1888 in Prostějov, Jewish religion, one-year volunteer of c.k. (imperial.royal)93rd infantry regiment, single, son of Emmanuel Türkl and Irma Abelesová, born Rohsová from Prostějov, registered as living at 18 Laudonová (today Komenského) Street, Olomouc.

On 23 September 1917, in Prostějov, he married Marie Reichová, born 3 January 1890 in Zawadka, Silesia, daugher of Salomon and Eugenie Reichová, born Binderová. The family moved to Děčín in March 1919 after the birth, on 5 January 1919, of their daughter Trude, where Viktor Türkl worked as director of Děčín branch of the Wiener Bank Verein. At that time the family lived at the Schaffner Villa on Schutzenstrasse 109. On 24 August 1922, their son Erno Emmanuel was born in the contemporary sanatorium Hellebrand. The stay of Türkl family in Děčín didn’t last too long. They returned to Olomouc in October of the same year, where Viktor Türkl continues to work as Director of the Böhmische Union Bank, Filiale Olmütz. The family moved several times during the 30’s, and belonged without a doubt to the privileged circles of Olomouc inhabitants. Son Emmanuel studied at a Grammar school and his sister Trude married Lothar Freund.

Events during 1938 as a result of the Munich Agreement about the ceding of the Sudeten border areas and the subsequent occupation of the remainder of Czechoslovakia meant serious danger to the Jewish Türkl family. Viktor Türkl decided then to at least save his 17 year old son Emmanuel. According to the registration card at the Police directorate in Olomouc, dated 10 July 1939, Erno Emmanuel Türkl, student, single, Czech nationality, Jewish religion, “moved to England.”

The further fate of Emmanuel’ s parents is typical of the majority of the Jewish population. In the year 1941 Viktor Türkl, former bank employee, Jew of mosaic persuasion, domiciled in the Protectorate, was registered, together with his wife Marta, at Chválkovicíce, Skopalíková no.65, their last address in Olomouc, tenants of a Mrs. Helena Scheinová. On 30 June 1942 they both were listed with 900 other Jews of transport AAg to Terezin and later transported in transport AAx, on 14 July 1942, to the extermination camp Maly Trostinec in Beloruse, where their tracks ended. Their names are registered amongts the 1,325 Jewish victims named on the Memorial plaques on the Memorial to Holocaust victims in the Jewish cemetery at Olomouc.

The year 1942 was thus tragical for the entire Türkl family. Son Emmanuel perished as member of the Czechoslovak Air Force in the RAF in England, parents in an extermination camp in Beloruse and nothing conclusive could be found about the fate of their daughter Trude.

However, the story doesn’t end yet. The Czechoslovak RAF pilots were forgotten for many long years. Altogether 302 urns with the soil from the graves of the Czechoslovak RAF pilots – 29), who perished in 1940-1945, were transported from Great Britain shortly after the end of the War and stored at the Memorial of Resistance at Žižkov, Prague but, because of the Communist Regime, there was no political desire to intern them with proper honours until 1990. The boxes with the urns were opened for the very first time in 1990 (!), a list of them was made (by that time, 63 urns had decayed), and contacts were made with the next-of-kin, who were willing to receive the urns. -29) Their handover of urns was undertaken in 1997, but there were still many urns unclaimed, because it was not possible to contact all the next-of-kin.

Some of the urns was therefore interred at the Memorial of the fallen pilots in the military section of the Praha-Olšany cemetery, part at the WWII Memorial at Hrabyne, Ostrava. Urns with the names of Slovak airmen were taken care of by the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic and interred at Bratislava and the remaining 97 urns interred at the recently constructed Memorial to the fallen WWII Czechoslovak airmen at Prostějove.

The Memorial was ceremoniously inaugurated 22 June 1998, also in the presence of many Czechoslovak airmen from home as well as abroad.

In acknowledgement and as a symbolic expression of the military rehabilitation of the airmen who had fought in the west in WW II, and who laid down their lives in battle against the Nazi’s, Emil Türkl was – by order of the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Czechoslovakia on 1 June 1991 – was promoted in memoriam to the rank of Major.

Below it is a photo of the Memorial to the fallen Czechoslovak airmen of WW II 1939 – 1945, which has been at Svoboda Square, in Prague-Dejvice since 1995. Amongst the 546 engraved names is also the name of Děčín native – Emil Türkl.

We can also find the name of Emil Türkl on the Memorial plaque in the club rooms of the Czechoslovak National House in London, where it is listed amongst more than 500 names of the fallen Czechoslovak RAF airmen of 1940 -1945.

The town museum of Děčín will initiate in the future, in cooperation with the city of Děčín, the placing of a memorial plaque to Major Emil Türkl on his home.

In November 2017, his name, along with the names of some 2500 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion monument at Klárov, Prague.

Events

Birth24 Aug 1922contemporary sanatorium Hellebrand, Czech
Immigration10 Jul 1939England, United Kingdom
Death13 Oct 1942WWII - Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
BurialAft 13 Oct 1942Grave 105, St Paul's Churchyard, Scropton, South Derbyshire District, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
Alt nameEmil Turkl
Alt nameErno Emmanuel Türkl
ResidenceDěčín, Czech

Families

FatherVictor Türkl (1888 - 1942)
MotherMarie "Marta" Reichová (1890 - 1942)
SiblingTrude Türkl (1919 - )

Notes