“There was no problem with manufacturing, as cars were concerned, but the management, the one the coop wanted to be, that was something I just didn't understand. As there were people who wanted to to be a chief. And it was quite easy for the communists to find where I did wrong. As I didn't agree with their policy. I was at the court, I was sentenced twice, yet I didn't serve my sentence. As I couldn't live in freedom, yet I have been longing for it so much.”
“Later, I was the director of this planning department, where we made plans for manufacturing. And on a singe occasion, I didn't meet the norm, and there was this man you wouldn't play with, his name was Rudolf Vrabec, he was a Party member, and at this meeting where this issue had to be resolved, he would just say: 'We didn't meet our norm because of this Dražil, my dear comrades, as he would set our target so high, knowing that we just couldn't make it, as he wanted to humiliate us!' And I said: 'That's a lie, Mr Vrabec. As the workers were supposed to meet the norm. As my plan was just alright.' So I got quite paranoid, as I was this enemy of the state, and I did so much harm to it, according to them, that I knew I had to be punished. But they would let me go and I went on like if nothing had happened.”
“I grew up in an atheist family, but we were considered a good family, a serious one. We never went to church, no one in our family, and it was just something I didn't understand. Then Christmas came and they gave me this Kralice Bible. And that was quite a gift, as I was given the Word of God. Before that, I was living like the others. I thought that everything I did was just right. Then I started to read the Bible, and I had no clue where to begin, as I wanted to find something that would interest me. But I found it quite interesting from the moment I opened it, as I didn't understand what was going on and I wanted to understand, so there were parts I had to read several times, just to get a grip on what was going on and how I should live my life.”
Josef Dražil was born on March 14, 1923, in Bělá pod Bezdězem. After his mother had died while giving birth to his sister, his father remarried. After finishing elementary school, he trained as a mechanic, and had been working at Škoda car manufacturing plant in Mladá Boleslav. Later, he left the job to study engineering at secondary school. After starting his compulsory military service in Josefov, he applied for a truck driver job. He went to Paris with the UNRRA international relief agency repatriation train. After the coup in February 1948, he was considered an enemy of the state, and due to his political beliefs he had troubles finding a decent job. Police raided his home several times and he was sentenced twice. With his family he left Czechoslovakia for the Federal Republic of Germany, starting his own business. Few years later, he moved to Fallbrook, California, and opened a car repair shop with his son. His grandsons have been operating the repair shop till today. After 1989, the witness relocated to the Czech Republic.
Hrdinové 20. století odcházejí. Nesmíme zapomenout. Dokumentujeme a vyprávíme jejich příběhy. Záleží vám na odkazu minulých generací, na občanských postojích, demokracii a vzdělávání? Pomozte nám!
