The Stehlík home — first assistance in the Plzeň region
Story period: late December 1941 · help for other teams in spring 1942
Location: Stehlíkova 319/II, Rokycany
Railway worker Václav Stehlík’s home was the first contact address that proved useful after the mistaken landing. Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík sought help here, and Stehlík arranged treatment for Gabčík’s injury. The family later sheltered members of other parachute teams. On 28 May 1942 they were murdered at the shooting range in Plzeň-Lobzy.
A contact address after the mistaken landing
late December 1941
The contact arranged help for an injury.
Realizing they had landed near Nehvizdy rather than Plzeň, Kubiš and Gabčík headed west using their prepared contacts. At Václav Stehlík’s address they received assistance, and Stehlík arranged a doctor for the injured Gabčík.
The house shows why even a carefully planned parachute mission depended on people at home: a contact address turned two unknown men after a mistaken landing into members of a working support network.
Assistance beyond ANTHROPOID
spring 1942
The Stehlíks also sheltered men from TIN and INTRANSITIVE.
At the end of April the family sheltered Ludvík Cupal and Vojtěch Lukaštík. Like ANTHROPOID’s members, both had received the Stehlík address in London.
The family executed the day after the attack
28 May 1942
The Stehlíks’ arrest did not result from the network’s exposure after Čurda’s testimony.
The Gestapo arrested the family shortly before the attack. Václav Stehlík, his wife, their sons and their daughter with her husband were shot in Plzeň-Lobzy on 28 May.
Their deaths came the day after the attack. Czech Radio reports that they had already been arrested beforehand, reportedly following an earlier denunciation for hiding people. Čurda exposed the Prague and Plzeň networks only in June.
The building’s present address is Stehlíkova 319/II. The point at 49.732885, 13.601582 matches the current address location; a local commemorative record supports the building’s historical identity.
Explore further
- Nehvizdy
the earlier landing and journey to contact addresses
- The Král apartment
the next functioning contact in the Plzeň region