The communists destroyed not only my family but all of agriculture here
Stáhnout obrázek
Václav Novotný was born on 17 September 1942 in the village of Boreč near Mladá Boleslav. He comes from a protestant farmer‘s family whose genealogy goes all the way to 1695. His father Václav Novotný was an agricultural engineer and a farm owner. In 1953, he was arrested for not meeting the required levy of products to the state. Prior to that, the communists confiscated his machines and forbade him to employ anyone, so that he wouldn‘t be able to keep his farm running. The family property was then confiscated by the state. Václav, his mother, four siblings and a grandmother were evicted to a small apartment in the village of Hospozín. His parents then worked there at a state-owned farm as common workers. After high school graduation, Václav began working in a chemical factory in Litvínov. He became interested in the history of farmer families, which were affected by the 1950s collectivization. After 1990, the family farm in Boreč was returned to the hands of the family.
