If it hadn‘t been for the Velvet Revolution, nothing good would have happened to us
Stáhnout obrázek
Zdeněk Beránek was born on 21 July 1939 in Prague. He lived with his father Václav, his mother Zdeňka, née Vlachová, and his older brother Václav in the family house in Strašnice, where he still lives today (2023). His parents came from a family of tradesmen, his father soon retired on disability, so the family struggled with financial problems. Zdeněk Beránek recalls the changes brought about by the coup in February 1948, how it affected the life of the villages in Votice, where his parents came from, and his life in the Sokol and at school. Being technically oriented, he graduated from a secondary industrial school and devoted his whole life to designing, first as an employee of a design office and after the Velvet Revolution as a self-employed person. During his studies he found his way to faith, just like his future wife Zdena Urbanová. Their wedding in a church made it clear to the surrounding area which party he belonged to and he was thus spared the pressure to join the Communist Party. In 1968, with friends from the Christian community, he participated in the restoration of the Junák in Strašnice, where he led a section until 1970. He joined the organization after the Velvet Revolution and continues to meet with the original scouts today. He and his wife joined the KDU-ČSL and are still active there. At the time of filming (2023) he lived in Prague.
