LENK, Hans

23.09.2014 / 07:00 | Aktualizováno: 23.09.2014 / 08:36

(This article expired 24.09.2015.)

Hans and his brother, Fred, came from a Jewish family from Karlových Varů. At the beginning of the war, they were both arrested and taken to the camp at Dachau. Dachau concentration camp was the first of the Nazi concentration camps opened in Germany, intended to hold political prisoners. However, they both managed to escape the camp but were warned not to return to their home. So they eventually fled to the Philippines. Upon arrival, both brothers entered the service of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). After the fall of the U.S. troops, they were captured and were part of the Bataan Death March. Hans Lenk became infected with tuberculosis due to the hardships encountered. His brother, Fred, was then transported to Japan and was made to work in the mines. Hans Lenk, together with other Czechs (Dančák, Hermann, Lenk and Morávek) released in 1945 from Bilibid Prison. After the war, he was then exiled to the U.S. His case was resolved by a special law enacted by the US Congress just for him in 1951.