Karel Bergman

Karel Bergman (2 September 1902 – 14 September 1983) was a Czech-Jewish military translator and member of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Bergman served as a translator and liaison officer, primarily with No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF. He was the husband of holocaust survivor Anka Bergman, and stepfather to holocaust educator Eva Clarke.

Early life Bergman was born in Trhová Kamenice, in what is now the Czech Republic, to a Jewish family. His father, Maxmilian Bergman, was a businessman and factory owner. His mother, Hermína (née Spitzerová), came from Netolice. Karel had a twin sister Greta, was born two days earlier. He attended local schools, followed by business studies at a commercial academy.

Emigration and World War II Facing increasing anti-Semitic persecution, Bergman emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1939. Before the war, he continued his business activities and provided employment for fellow Jewish and Czechoslovak refugees. In London, he worked with the Georgic Co-operative Society Ltd., an organisation that provided job opportunities for displaced individuals. She had given birth to a daughter, Eva Clarke, in Mauthausen days before the camp's liberation. Due to the 1948 communist coup d'état, shortly after their marriage the couple and Eva, whom Bergman adopted, sought to leave Czechoslovakia.

Bergman originally intended to emigrate with his new family to Canada, where he had a job offer in the textile industry. However, while traveling, he received an opportunity to work in Wales and decided to settle in the UK. He took a managerial position at Burry, Son & Co. Ltd. in Cardiff, which he later purchased in 1953, running the company for several decades. Throughout his later life, he remained active in supporting former Czechoslovak RAF members and Jewish refugees.