The British sent a false message that his father had died

During the Second World War, the family of the inventor and owner of the Jawa factory František Janeček lived separated. He emigrated to England, where he continued to work on his technical innovations which he would pass to the English arms industry. In particular his weapon called “Littlejohn” (malý Jan - Janeček) entered military history. His wife and children stayed at home at the Kvasiny chateau. Fearing that the Nazi authorities would take revenge for Janeček’s cooperation with the Allies on his family, the English sent a secret message to the Protectorate that Janeček died in a car accident. However, the message was encrypted in such a way that they knew that the Nazis could decipher. Thus the family was safe from harm. The Gestapo would only keep monitoring the family and occasionally search the house. Karel Janeček’s mother would serve them rare vintage wines from the chateau cellar which also helped to keep the family out of harm’s way. Despite the uneasy situation, Mrs. Janečková could still help Soviet partisans. “In our chateau in Kvasiny, there were Soviet army officers staying at the time of the liberation”, recalls son Karel Janeček. “The national caretaker apologized to them for us still not having moved out. One Russian officer shouted at him: ‘While you were hiding in your hole, Janeček helped us all. They were giving us food and gear. They deserve to stay here and receive a rent from the operation of the factory, which you will, of course, nationalize’.” The witness recalls that his mother, who had Jewish ancestors, would also help prisoners in Auschwitz. “Through one doctor she supplied much-needed drugs to Auschwitz for about two years.”