Even as a baby, I threatened the Communists
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Olga Bezděková was born on 14 September 1946. Her father, Stanislav Rejthar, fought in the RAF during World War II. In 1944 he redeployed to help the Slovak National Uprising. The post-1948 Communist regime in Czechoslovakia persecuted him like it did other resistance fighters from the western front. The persecution left a permanent mark on him. Olga grew up in an environment where open discussion was held regarding the crimes perpetrated by Communists. She was used to having her family followed by State Security. They were bullied in various ways, from being forcibly evicted from their house in 1953 to being insulted at government offices, where they addressed her “Miss Reactionary”. Even so, she managed to earn a degree at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague and obtain employment at the National Library. Her hobby was the history of cartoon series, and this led her to become acquainted with the famous Czech boys’ books writer Jaroslav Foglar. In 1986 she participated in the samizdat publication of Píseň úplňku (Song of the Full Moon), which focused on the person of Jaroslav Foglar. She later worked at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and at the National Audit Office. She prepared her father’s memoirs, published as Dobří vojáci padli (The Good Died), and she helped publish other books about people who fought against totalitarianism their whole life.
