Czech wartime superhero "returns" to criticize Lety pig farm

On the eve of the commemoration of the Holocaust and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, a poster and signs referencing the concentration camp at Lety by Písek have been posted in Brno, Lety, Prague and Terezín reminding readers that a pig farm still stands on the site where hundreds of people died. No one has taken responsibility for the text, which is signed with the name of "Pérák", a Czech legendary superhero who was depicted during the war as fighting against the Nazis.

"The pig farm at Lety is a shameful reminder of the Czech Auschwitz. I have returned to put things right. My first steps led to Lety. Since last night there are silhouettes of people on the walls of the pig farm commemorating all of the innocents who were murdered at Lety. The red is for the blood that was spilled," reads the e-mail that "Pérák" sent to news server Romea.cz.

Kamila Ingrišová Čuřínová, a spokesperson for the Czech Police, told the Czech News Agency today that the drawings on the walls were created during Sunday night and early Monday morning. The pig farm at Lety occupies sites that were previously used for a so-called "gypsy camp".  

A memorial commemorating the Romani victims of the Holocaust is located near the former camp. "The memorial has been neither damaged nor drawn on. However, fliers related to this attack have been posted on the information signs there," Čuřínová said.  

Police are investigating the incidents as felony property damage. The poster, which turned up at several places in Brno, Prague and Terezín, is in both a Czech and an English version.

"Pérák" has also sent the editors at news server Romea.cz photographs of a banner reading "I'm back like your bad conscience". In a video sent by "Pérák" to Romea.cz, one can see how the painting of the pig farm at Lety and the postering took place.

The audio track includes recordings of politicians' promises to remove the farm from the site. "I'm back because this is making me sick. I'm back to shine a light on you all... I'm back and I know that you know it. The posters in Brno, Prague and Terezín told me that they saw you. Just like during fascism, now I am back, like your bad conscience. Black as the night in which I live. Black as a Gypsy who never returned from Lety. Black as the shadow behind you. From the roofs in the night, perhaps even over your heads," the text accompanying the video reads.

Pérák is a Czech fictional legendary wartime hero. During WWII and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia era, specifically, after Nazi Germany occupied Bohemia and Moravia, a legend was told there about a strange jumping figure who was fighting against the German occupiers.

The figure was called Pérák. Thanks to the springs on his feet, he could jump entire streets, and he later acquired such supernatural powers (thanks to folk tales) that he was even able to jump the span of the entire Vltava valley

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