%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 17 0 R 21 0 R ] /Count 3 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 19 0 R /GS4 20 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250716083431+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250716083431+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1119 >> stream xVMs6W1a[I8ukzTS.@IjdzxLݷq9ӵ"mʪbb sbkݩAc{T@a xX2Fߡ@Zs>aa:&ȗY ;"2e\1Y ɪdȡg=q|B'3W38q2V,z}B)"z#~VԬ--qsKG*/e)0o7~հc)3VQSJxL^X٭Yuv5S9eY8KMKڂ*秴ĉwR1v743X@eyBL2)XY V ~~(՜yD[e_Y+jGKx匂w`7!))^y9t:أpTPwNj@V*| HǾ6E&YQdZK]hƒЌJ#X`",Rȳ#g-"cuF£ F?Z[܎M"j|/4&L;U΂#j|,aУx%+g{AVgAuO L? юD"K/fBIx7UTEgM$䔀W(|pvHUz>lHǐ4ҡ9=ΚtdcC$) q<á*D-8QV6mkOOG؜Bqc4^rĺC..ľߓgֵON+Jj_2ʚռJ:UtvkQLOb]#O endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 18 0 R >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2009 >> stream xXM۸W1ᐔ{o6ٙ=rHP# V5Hi 暃GD_w~ݭ7EVH9}¿oQU5lHã~_9GgxNoz̻xX  H!ѽn..p+:C𞹴Ό0+9b-$6e۳,vLw'y cD+>M \b[崮JA/_$yڛV3>5|5B8xO?_Y<.feʹbu^d[ u?=OP%~?pk?JU .8Z-./=u endstream endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 22 0 R >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 331 >> stream xO0QWJxEMx0x0: te-!̫}~^@8XO!Q)b»OA$1ai1@EޯJ])XG3<@Ng0Jv4 RaqTY6U.*ѝ-~馸@C:D0qAOgrbj[US֩ʭuWS{0k0P2( sF朎x::ExA 㬡 endstream endobj xref 0 23 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000408 00000 n 0000000437 00000 n 0000000586 00000 n 0000000689 00000 n 0000001881 00000 n 0000001988 00000 n 0000002096 00000 n 0000002206 00000 n 0000002319 00000 n 0000002435 00000 n 0000002464 00000 n 0000002574 00000 n 0000002633 00000 n 0000002692 00000 n 0000002797 00000 n 0000004880 00000 n 0000004937 00000 n 0000004994 00000 n 0000005099 00000 n trailer << /Size 23 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 5503 %%EOF Salvation Army commemorates the 20th anniversary of its return to the Czech republic. | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Salvation Army commemorates the 20th anniversary of its return to the Czech republic.

September 21, 2010
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

Celebrating 20 years

by Buffy Lincoln –

Josef and Erna Korbel

The Salvation Army—which returned to Czechoslovakia in 1990 after 40 years of exile by the Czech government—is celebrating its 20th year of service in that country.

Beginnings
The Army’s presence in Czechoslovakia from 1919 until 1951 was largely due to the work of Josef Korbel (Order of the Founder) and his wife, Erna. Born in 1907 in the capital city of Prague, Josef met the Army at an open-air meeting in 1925. He was so impressed that he entered training school in 1926 and was commissioned a year later to Kladno, where he met and married Erna von Thun.

In 1949—while still serving in Kladno—Josef was arrested. Accused of being “a very dangerous man for his strong religious influence, especially on young people and children,” he spent the next 10 years in prison.

Persecution
Released from prison in 1959, Josef never enjoyed the life of a “free man.” Because of their commitment to God, the family continued to be persecuted. In 1965 the youngest son was shot and killed for asking permission to attend a Good Friday service. The oldest son, Helmuth, was falsely imprisoned in 1966.

Helmuth was released from prison just prior to the Soviet invasion in August 1967. Fearing for their safety, the remaining Korbels fled to Austria. While living in Austria, Josef and Erna were appointed to the Arbon Corps in Switzerland. In 1971 they were transferred to the U.S. Central Territory and retired two years later.

Erna was promoted to Glory in 1980. After Erna’s death Josef moved to Denver, Colo., where he was promoted to Glory in 2002.

Freedom
The collapse of the communist government across Eastern Europe in 1989 ushered in a dismal year for Czechoslovakia. Soviet rule had taken its toll on the people as well as the country. For 22 years they had been controlled to the point that freedom of choice and freethinking lost all meaning to them—they were no longer able to do either. So rather than experiencing joy at regaining their independence they were left confused, disoriented, fearful and lost.

Recognizing the physical and moral devastation left behind by the Soviet regime, then president Vaclav Havel invited The Salvation Army to return and—led by General Eva Burrows—the Army agreed. However, they did not return to the same country they left 40 years earlier. They returned to a country just emerging from a long sleep and struggling to grab a vision of its own destiny again.

Knowing the task would be a difficult one, Army officers started from the ground up—the basics—by building night shelters and hostels and taking soup to train stations. And although they were meeting physical needs, they were also providing a strong spiritual basis: they brought with them a code of morality and ethics the country had not known for over 20 years.

Challenges
The Salvation Army’s past 20 years in Czechoslovakia has been an up-and-down experience. Slowly growing in its own confidence, it has emerged as a leading source of social care in the country. When the Soviets pulled out, the people wanted change but didn’t know how to change themselves. The Army provided the training and teaching to show them how to do that.

One of the most prevalent contributors to the Army’s slow growth was the almost universal distrust of anyone in a uniform. Another was the people’s inability to think for themselves. Accustomed to being told what to reason and do, they chose to attend churches that taught a more black-and-white legalistic doctrine as opposed to the Army’s teachings of freedom of choice and thinking for themselves. However, there was a remnant that dared to break out of the old mold and become new and self-confident. It was these “rebels” that supported and helped build the Army.

While recognized today as a civic organization in the Czech republic, The Salvation Army is working to become a registered church by the end of 2010.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like