“I was surprised, what roasting they gave us – literally – by the voice they used, the facial expressions… That chair of the Supreme Court dressed down not on me but on my defense attorney, Dr. Fáček. How dare him, such an old an experience attorney - they proposed capital punishment and I was supposed to get it. Instead, he took the liberty to appeal to the Supreme Court!”
“On 6 June the trial took place and on 8 August the other one before the Supreme Court. There, they obviously confirmed it all. And they dressed down on Dr. Fáček, so to say. I then got a chance to meet my family. It took an hour or so, the policeman left us alone in the compartment and went to have a smoke at the train platform. Just before departure he said: ‘Let’s conclude this.‘ And when he later escorted me to the prison he said – this I also remember: ‘When you come to the prisoners, please, do not ever say I allowed you to meet your family. That would cause me great trouble.‘”
“During my detention, I was called to see the prosecutor. At that time, it was Ms. Brožová-Polednová whose name you surely know since you deal with this topic. And she told me, that I remember precisely: ‘You, show-off, are never getting out of here.’ Full stop. She released me. Only those few words she told me, nothing more.”
“About a week or a fortnight later it was exactly the same. The wind howled. I said: 'Pepík, who is going berserk?' - 'Dunno.' On the second day it was exactly the same as with Stalin. Has somebody died? It might have been the president. And Kléma kicked the bucket when he came back from Moscow.”
“Humour always helped, it was the best medicine. I also spread various pleasantries and boys liked me because of that. I always injected some humour into the perspective we had.”
“My father had many acquaintances from his military service time. Outstanding friendships usually emerge in exceptional situations. Boys who were imprisoned in concentration camps during Communism and during WWII brought wonderful friendships from there. And we experienced something similar.”
“Some boys from the bunch and I decided to flee. Krušina knew someone who could take us to the military route along which people fled abroad across Moravia and Silesia to France. However, it did not come off in my case because of school when there was the date to leave. I said: 'Boys, just go without me.' But they wouldn't. We had a great teacher at the Technical College, he taught workshop practice, he was an old legionnaire. I trusted him and I said to him: 'There is a chance for me to flee.' And he replied: 'Stay here.' And if my Dad had told me I wouldn't have believed him. 'There will be problems, they will imprison your parents. Don't do that.' And we didn't cancel it, we just put it off.”
“There were many tennis courts in Bubeneč. When the Communists started purifying libraries from dangerous literature, there were always several-day actions. They were cutting out books from schools, publishing houses, from libraries and they were gathering them in the tennis courts. Then old paper was pulped in the mill and so-called scrap paper was made from it. And there were always professors coming to the mill, the director always sent me with them. They had bags in their hands and they were picking valuable books there. I also chose many books. They also brought maps there, a tremendous number of maps from the Military Geography Office – former special-purpose maps. I've always loved maps so I stockpiled them and later took them home with me. When the State Security arrested me they said: 'Just look around what you've got at home. Everybody knows right away who you are, (a spy).”
Miloň Kučera was born in Pilsen in 1921. His father was employed in a Pilsen bank. The Kučeras were a typical middle-class family of the First Republic - they were Czech patriots, members of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, they were keen on sports and the arts. Miloň was a Scout group member, he attended Sokol as well, and he performed in amateurish theatre. Having finished his training in ammunition works in Strakonice, he graduated from the Technical College in Pilsen. During the war, he and his friends planned a flight from the Protectorate but it was never realized. He also got married during the war. In 1945, he started military service, which he partially did in Paris where he worked for the UNRRA - The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. They were responsible for supplies in Czechoslovakia. Having returned, he worked in a paper mill in Pilsen and later in Prague. After February 1948, he experienced the disposal of unwanted books in the paper mill. He had many acquaintances; he used to meet with Pilsen Communists. However, he also gained contacts with intelligence service and with public figures from the West when he worked in Paris. Because of his cooperation with Colonel Jiří Flak, he was arrested and in June 1952 condemned for treason and espionage, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Procurator Brožová initially suggested the death penalty. During the custody his son was born and when he came home his son was 12 years old. From 1952 to 1964 Miloň Kučera has held prisoner in the jail in Valdice, Leopoldov, in the camp Bytíz in Příbram, in Opava jail, in Prague Pankrác and in Bory. He was not released until the amnesty in 1964. He was excluded from all previous amnesties. Having been released, he worked as a railwayman and then in Agroprojekt where he designed mechanical machine equipment of agricultural buildings - granaries and cow barns. With this enterprise, he also went abroad to the West. He kept making projects for various enterprises even after he had retired.
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!
