Freedom has to be cherished
Kateřina Spurná née Nováková was born on 11 December 1956 in the then of Gottwaldov (today‘s Zlín). She spent most of her childhood at her grandparent‘s house in Napajedla. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old. She had been raised in the spirit of anti-communism, which was even intensified by the August 1968 Warsaw pact invasion. She decided to drop out from secondary school before graduation. With her husband, Jaroslav Spurný, she got involved with the dissident movement. At first in Gottwaldov, then, since 1984, in Prague. In most cases, Kateřina had been copying samizdat literature and banned books. She took part in protests in 1989. Her husband, Jaroslav, co-founded Respekt weekly magazine and has been a respected journalist.