“A friend of mine, his name was Gabčík. He explained the situation to me, so that I knew it wouldn’t be an adventure like riding a horse through the Sahara desert, or something like that.”
Jan Dorůšek was born in 1920 in western Slovakia. On the New Year's Eve of 1938 he met Jozef Gabčík, with whom he left the country the following year. Both men arrived to France via Poland and there they joined the Foreign Legion, with which they continued to northern Africa. Their fates however separated after the war between France and Germany broke out. Mr. Dorůšek joined the Czechoslovak unit in France and participated in the French defence against the German army. He was captured and transported to a prisoners´ camp in Gleisendorf in Austria. Together with friends he attempted to escape, but their attempt failed. He was then brought to Slovakia where he spent the rest of his penalty. Afterwards he continued to be regarded as "untrustworthy" due to his stay in the camp and in prison.
