"My grandmother and grandfather on my mother's part lived and worked in Studená in Moravia, where my grandfather started with his father as a butcher. He distributed meat from his own workshop to the region and later worked up to a meat processing plant in Studená, then in Krahuleč and build a tin packaging factory, in which he was the first to cook canned meat, producing liver pâtés as well as Satrapa sausages, which were known throughout Central Europe. Thanks to his working efforts people were employed all over the area, where there was no industry. Many trained as butchers and worked in my grandfather´s factory."
"After 1948, the entire property of the grandfather and grandmother was nationalized. They were labeled as large-scale factory workers and at that time they were not entitled to any pension at all because they" exploited "the working class. If they were not supported by their own children, they might have died of hunger. That was too big a bite for my grandfather to endure, and he died immediately after the nationalization of the entire property."
"Regarding the park I have another unpleasant memory of an incident. When we walked through the park along the way, there was a gazebo, we called it a black gazebo because it was painted black. Once we went past it and suddenly two gentlemen came out of the black gazebo, who said, ' Is Mr. Štech among you?' - which was one of my cousins, who was about 17 or 18 years old at the time; he was the oldest of us. And he said, 'Yes, I am Stech.' And they said, 'You will come with us.' They took him away, had him take a few personal hygiene items with him, and they took him in. He was tried in a scout group accused of disagreeing with the regime after 1948. He was imprisoned in Bory, Pilsen for two years, and after two years he managed to get out of prison."
Václav Lukavec was born on August 7, 1938. The family lived in Kutná Hora, his father was a doctor by profession, his grandparents owned meat processing plants. His grandparents lost their business and most of their property in 1948. Václav Lukavec started primary school at the end of the war, studied high school after the war and after the school reform he transferred to the newly formed 11-year-old. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Economics. At one of the school work brigades, he met his future wife Magda, with whom he has two children. After the war, he worked in the Modřany chocolate factories and later moved to the Assembly Company of Machines, where he worked his way up from a job of economist to an economic deputy director. He was removed from office after the emigration of his younger sister Běla, in 1981. After the revolution in 1989, he was able to work again as financial and personnel director. He retired for health reasons in 2000. He has devoted his entire life to sports, especially basketball.
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!
