Above all, Scouting has taught me self-reliance
Jiří Hanauer - Hrášek was born in 1931 in Ústí nad Labem. In 1937, he began Scouting. His mother, Jiřina Hanauerová, and his uncle, the well-known aviator, Ota Hanzlíček, were also Scouts. After less than a year, his parents decided they no longer wanted to live in their home, which had become part of Hitler’s Germany, and they escaped to Prague. They returned to Ústí immediately after the end of the War, and Jiří rejoined the Scouts of the 2nd troop. He studied at a secondary technical school and began working in a chemical plant. It was recommended that he continue his studies at the University, which he later completed as well. Jiří was a member of the Communist Party, but he left it after the events of August 1968. In 1968, he was involved in the restoration of Scouting in Ústí nad Labem, and in 1968-1970 he served as the leader of the local unit. He even secretly organized a summer camp in 1971. Between 1971 and 1989, he was not working with children at all. At the end of 1989, Jiří participated in another restoration of Scouting in Ústí nad Labem and became the unit’s leader again. At present, Jiří Hanauer is a member of an Old Scout Club and holder of several Scout decorations, like the Order of the Silver Trefoil or the Silver Syrynx. He died on May 8th, 2017.
