"Pastor Vajdička was an erudite man, that's indisputable. When I presented him with a proposal, he looked at me and said: Do you think I will sign it? I know, Sir, you won't sign it because you would agree with that occupation. I have fulfilled my duty, I will report what's the situation. But the pastor had acknowledged that new founder would move there."
"In 1938, when there were demonstrations, also we as pupils had to gather in the street and shout slogans against Jews and Czechs. At that time, the pastor called me from the parish after the meeting. Petríček, you should not shout like that, because one day I'll take you to the archive in Bytca and show you your ancestors came here to the Puchov valley from Bila hora."
"He mostly did blacksmithing work and the farmers, who commissioned work from him assisted him with the work on the fields. After the passage of the frontline in 1945, he could not continue working as a blacksmith- his workshop was destroyed as a result of the detonation of the nearby bridge by German troops passing through the village."
Alojz Petríček was born on March 18, 1926, in Beluša, a village in Považie, as the tenth child of his parents. He attended the folk school, the called „Masaryk primary school“, in his native village. Later, he also attended middle school here. From September 1938, he studied at the church gymnasium in Trenčín. He survived the Second World War here and after that, he graduated from the 2nd State Gymnasium. From 1946 he studied law at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University (UK) in Bratislava, where he was also caught by the communist regime. After successfully completing his studies, he joined the Heavy Engineering Plant (ZŤS) in Martin. From 1952 to 1964, he was elected chairman of the racing club for culture and from 1964 he worked in physical education. He currently lives in retirement in Martin.
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!
