“In the year 1968 my brother was here with his family. One child of three, the other one five years old. They began thinking of crossing the borders. We thought he might stay here, to work even his wife could work in a Czech school. But he insisted on leaving and they stopped them in Hungary already. And they came to Prostějov and there was a shooting. The year 1968 meant a lot for my brother. He worked in school, signed some thousand words or something and got thrown out of the party. And his son could not study, he was banned. But my cousin Pokorný, a son of my aunt Pokorná, he was a professor at Electrotechnical Faculty in Brno, even had a doctorate there, so he helped him to get his son to study more.”
“Daddy was not at home, he was here in Đulovec in a working group, the school was built. My brother was fourteen years old and he ran to meet father. They were arguing what to do with such a kid. They went past Osijek and Dráva and a grenade fell in there and my father was wounded, it was not a deadly wound but his blood got poisoned and he died eventually. And my brother travelled from Slatina for five days, daddy left him there with relatives and kept asking if anyone seen him. Who would have... So he travelled for five days to Zděnce, spelt under the bridge that was back in the year 1945, thing were still odd. And here in 1944., it made the biggest impression, those čerkézi. I know they went in Zděnce from Pavlovce and there was a metre of show that winter in 1944. And they came in our house, back then everything was white, bed lining and all. So they made a hole in a cover not to be seen. But you could still see them moving. And before that partisans, Czech brigade and musicians were cooking food in a big pot in our garden. And when čerkézi were coming, they ran and those čerkézi cooked it up and eat it all. And someone told them that mother´s son is a partisan. She acted as if she didn’t understand. She only said, my son, hay, in the barn, but they didn’t trust her. But we had a nice large house and mostly the leaders were staying with us, so we had no problems. Only once they put nine horses in our bedroom. They drank a lot, hiding it in the ground, I remember I was nine, then ten. I remember that most. And then after was everyone was coming back, but our dad didn’t. So my mum went to search him.”
“They accepted them well (re-emigrants in the Czechoslovakia), it was according to a bilateral agreement. But they went mostly to German houses. Those Germans were displaced and for example my dad´s sister in Medlov stayed with some people for two weeks waiting for the Germans to get out of their house, which they gave them. That was what put mum off most, as the Germans had been there for many generations. They were saying good-bye, even kissing the doorstep. She felt much impressed by that and could not make herself go. And their houses were very nice, and the rest was too shabby or scarce. I believe it made a huge impression on her, she went to have a look. And my brother stayed there with a pure mind power, it was an opportunity he took, and he could not go back later. Now it is not far, but it used to be.”
Drahuška Šulentićová, née Pařízková, was born on 4 February, 1935 in Malé Zdence in today´s Croatia. She comes from a Czech family and her ancestors came to Croatia at the end of 19th century. The family Pařízek had a large farm and as there were many Czech families in the village and its surroundings, she spoke better Czech than Croatian. Cohabitation with other nationalities was good, in the village they celebrated the Czech, Croatian and Serbian feasts in the same manner. During WW2 she began attending local Croatian school. Her father was a partisan, whi died at the end of war. When remigration to Czechoslovakia began in 1946, almost all relatives used the opportunity including her sixteen year old brother Pepa. Small Drahuška was alone to work in the farm along with her mother and studied the secondary school of economics in Daruvar and began working as an accountant. At the age of seventeen she married Bohumil Šulentić, who had also Czech mother and they soon had two children; a son and a daughter. All her life she has been participating in events organised by the Czech minority, mainly the Czech association (beseda). They also participate in events organised by the Matice of pensioners in Daruvar, sings in a folk choir and formerly done its accounting. Her family is still in touch with the relatives, who re-emigrated. During war in 1990s the Šulentićs stayed with their grandchildren. For sixty years she has kept a correspondence with her brother, who lives in Prostějov, exchanging letters each month.
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!
