Ervín Hoida

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Ervín Hoida was born on 30 November 1918 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, into a Jewish family. Following the German occupation in March 1939, he escaped through Italy to France, where he volunteered for the Czechoslovak Army in exile at Agde on 8 November 1939. He fought in the Battle of France in June 1940, including the retreat towards the Loire at Gien, before being evacuated to Britain.

In Britain, Hoida served alongside Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, the future members of Operation Anthropoid. He completed a British leadership course, earning praise from his instructors, and hoped to undertake training for clandestine service in occupied Czechoslovakia. Family circumstances prevented him from continuing along that path. He instead trained as a tank driver with the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group.

Returning to France in 1944, Hoida participated in the siege of Dunkirk, where Czechoslovak troops contained the German garrison. His duties also included night patrols into no-man’s-land, seeking prisoners who could provide intelligence about German positions and supplies. During one patrol, his sergeant stepped on a mine. Hoida and another soldier carried him back through crossfire, but he did not survive. Hoida received the Czechoslovak War Cross for his bravery. He ended the war as a staff sergeant.

After briefly returning to Czechoslovakia, Hoida settled in Britain and worked in furniture design and manufacturing. He died on 14 February 2024 in Wirral, aged 105, as the last surviving Czechoslovak veteran of the 1940 Battle of France.