“We act in faith – and miracles occur. In consequence, we are tempted to make the miracles the ground for our faith. The cost of such weakness is that we lose the confidence of faith. Faith is, faith creates, faith carries. It is not derived from, nor created, nor carried by anything except its own reality.” — Dag Hammarskjold, “Markings”; pub. Knopf, 1967
Found with undated documents, this duplicate copy is part of Vlado’s application for naturalisation as a citizen of the United States of America (photo of Vlado is from 1957): “I am not aware of ever having committed any crime or offense, in the United States or in any country, except for minor traffic law violations. However, in October 1940, after having organized a mass walk-out of Slovak protestant students from a Nazi-sponsored organization called the Academic Hlinka Guard, I was arrested and without formal charge, trial or hearings of any kind condemned to deportation. On 27 January 1945, I was sentenced to death by the “Sicherheistdienst”(Gestapo) for obstructing the German war effort and participation in the Slovak liberation movement against German occupation forces. After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia, I was charged with “anti-State activities” for having expressed anti-Communist opinions and advocated freedom of private enterprise while employed as an official of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Commerce in 1945-6. As far as I know no formal trial was held on these charges, as I refused to return to Czechoslovakia when my passport was withdrawn and the Secretary-General did not deem it fit to comply with the request of the Czechoslovak Government for my dismissal from United Nations service.”
Please allow me to express to you my deep sympathy in your tragic loss. Your son worked devotedly and with dedication in the cause of peace, exposing himself to danger no less than a soldier on the battlefield. He will be missed by all who knew him. Words are small solace at times like these, but I hope you will find comfort in the knowledge that he gave his life in an important United Nations effort to bring peace to a seriously troubled area of the world. Sincerely yours, Dean Rusk”
“To separate himself from the society of which he was born a member will lead the revolutionary, not to life but to death, unless, in his very revolt, he is driven by a love of what, seemingly, must be rejected, and therefore, at the profoundest level remains faithful to that society.” –Dag Hammarskjold, “Markings”; pub. Knopf, 1967
