Once it got going, it couldn’t be stopped
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Rudolf Daňo was born on August 13, 1923 in Horní Lideč in Wallachia. He lived on a modest farm with his mother Františka, born Františáková, father Josef, and three siblings. His father made a living as a mason, as well as being a stove-maker. At the age of 22, Rudolf joined the partisans and spent the last months of the Second World War with members of the Prlov unit under the leadership of Tomáš Polčák (known as Beneš). After the war, he went to the school of the National Security Corps in Vítkovice in Ostrava and underwent basic training. After completing a radiotelegraphy course, he started working in Český Těšín, Frýdek-Místek and was later transferred to Opava. Later on, as a company commander, he trained basic military service soldiers to become border guards in Kremnica, Slovakia. For twelve years, he worked for the Border Guard Unit in Znojmo. His name can be found in the State Securiy (StB) registration protocol in the category of agent and confidant. Since 1966, he was part of the Czechoslovak People’s Army. Between 1968 and 1970, he worked briefly at the headquarters of the Border Guard Unit in Prague. He ended his career as deputy head of the Regional Military Administration in Frýdek-Místek as a podpolkovnik (lieutenant colonel). At the time of the Velvet Revolution, he held the position of secretary of the district committee of the Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters. In 2021, he lived in Olomouc in Klášterní Hradisko in the Military Hospital.
