A terrifying picture of the August occupation. My mother was writhing on the floor in convulsions
![Graduation, 1985](/sites/default/files/2023-09/20_0.jpeg)
Stáhnout obrázek
Jan Tomsa was born on 17 October 1961 in Jaroměř. His father, Josef Tomsa, and mother, Jarmila Tomsová, were preachers of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. In 1961, his Dad was convicted of Subversion of the Republic, spent less than a year in prison in Valdice, and was released on amnesty in 1962. On August 21, 1968, Jan Tomsa saw his mother crying desperately over the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia, and this moment from the occupation has always remained with him. He graduated from primary school in Jaroměř, and in 1976, he entered grammar school. In 1980, he was accepted to the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, graduating in 1985 and obtaining his doctoral degree a year later. He spent his compulsory military service in Strašice and then worked at the Astronomical Institute at the Ondřejov Observatory. In November 1989, he participated in demonstrations in Prague and Jaroměř. He taught mathematics and physics at Prague secondary schools and Charles University. In 2014, he started a fight against the statue of the Red Army in Jaroměř and sprayed it. In 2023, he lived with his wife in Prague and regularly visited Jaroměř.