Stanislav Hochman

* 1925

Participant in antifascist resistance, Participant in Czechoslovak resistance during WW2, Political prisoner in the 1950‘s (ČSR)
1. 9. 1939 - The outbreak of the WW2, 1948 - 1955 - Politic lawsuit in the Stalin age, 8. 5. 1945 - End of WWII
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    Barbora

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    “There was about a 1000 inmates in the Barbora camp. Some 400 men would go to the shift. We had to keep ourselves ‘hooked up’ – as we used to say – in groups of five men. A corridor led to the shaft, the ground was covered with sand, there were wires about three meters high. Behind us marched the warders armed with rifles.”

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    Distillery

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    “Of course, we were all against the Nazis.” Interviewer: “So you told him right away that you’re in?” “Of course” Interviewer: “And what was next? Would you meet at some clandestine meetings?” “Yes, we would hold various meetings. We would meet at the Doležals or in Jakubov at the public swimming pool. That was still with Janoštík (the leader of the group). We also took part in an operation with the goal of making sure that there was no alcohol available, so that the Russian soldiers would not embarrass themselves. Therefore, one night we went to the local distillery in Lesonice and emptied the tanks.”

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    In captivity

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    “The former director of our cooperative, Přikryl, he would intervene in our favor. There were others too, who helped us. He got the SS-man’s promise they’d not harm us in exchange for the free passage of his troops through the city. Our lives hinged on it. If there had been any trouble, they’d have shot us. The people of Budějovice kept their heads cool and the Germans withdrew. And in the morning, they came to release us.”

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    v Třebíči, u pamětníka, 31.07.2010

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You’ve got to stick to your principles. If a man sticks to his principles, he can be proud of himself

Stanislav Hochman
Stanislav Hochman

  Stanislav Hochman was born on April 11, 1925, in Jakubov in the region of Třebíčsko. His parents owned a farm where he and his brother spent their childhood. After primary school he went on to study at a grammar school. In early 1945, he joined the resistance group “Jánošík” that operated in the area around Moravské Budějovice. Shortly before the end of hostilities, the group was caught by the Germans and they survived only because the inhabitants of Moravské Budějovice granted the German soldiers free passage through the city. Otherwise, they would have been mercilessly executed. The last operation of the guerilla group was the emptying of the distillery shortly before the advent of the Soviet soldiers. After the war, Mr. Hochman conducted extra-mural studies at the University of Economics. He also worked at a collective in Jemnice. In 1951, only three weeks after his marriage, he was arrested without any justification. He was sentenced to five years in prison but only served three and a half years. He was relocated in several prisons and labor camps: Pankrác in Prague, the Mayrau mines in Kladno, the Barbora mine in Horní Slavkov and in Trutnov. It was in Trutnov where he was eventually released. He then got a recommendation and was able to work in the construction of Havířov. Subsequently, he returned to his native region and worked there as a lathe operator and a delivery man. He moved to Třebíč where he lives till today. He was rehabilitated in 1968.  

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