Přemysl Pitter

Přemysl Pitter (21 June 1895 – 15 February 1976) was a Czech humanist, pacifist, pedagogue, social worker and evangelical preacher.

He founded Milíč House in Prague, during World War II supported Jewish families and after the end of the war organized the “Operation Castles” in which he and his colleagues provided health and social care for children from German concentration camps as well as those from Czech internment camps.

Přemysl Pitter was named Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli government, in 1973 he was awarded The Order of Merit Ist Class of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 1991 President Václav Havel conferred upon Přemysl Pitter the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, in memorian.

He was deeply affected by the death of his mother in 1911 and his father in 1913; the printing company he inherited was in financial trouble.

[2] His terrible war experience affected him for the rest of his life; he returned a devout Christian and a pacifist.

He lectured at various places[5] and began to organise activities for socially endangered children in Prague Žižkov.

[9] Immediately after the end of the war, Pitter initiated the “Operation Castles” (1945 – 1947), action to help children coming back from the concentration camps,[10] among others Yehuda Bacon.

For 10 years Přemysl Pitter and Olga Fierz became social workers in the Valka refugee camp[13] near Nuremberg.

In 1991, President Václav Havel conferred on P. Pitter the Order of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk IIIrd Class in memoriam for outstanding merits for democracy and human rights.