His father fought in the Wehrmacht andwith the Allies, then brought the family to the borderlands
Helena Bobková was born on 28 January 1948 in Valč. Her father’s family came from the vicinity of Zelów, Poland, where the Czech minority lived. Her father, Vilém Dedecius, had to enlist in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, and at the end of the war he defected to the Allies and reached Czechoslovakia with them. In the south of Bohemia he met his future wife and in 1946 they went to settle the border area in Valec. The witness’s father was forced to join the JZD (Unified agriculture cooperative) in 1957. As the best farmer, he was also the chairman at first, then only an agronomist, as he was a practicing believer. The witness worked in the agricultural cooperative, later as a tutor in the children’s home at the Valec castle. After the castle burned down, she got a job in civil defense and education. She was also involved in activities within the Red Cross and the volunteer fire brigade. In 2024, she lived in Valeč.