Josef Horák

“So, the February arrived and some people from the Ministry of Industry appeared in our house on the 1st of December 1948 and they told to my father: ‘Look, Mr. Horák, there is a danger that you could misuse your scrap metal shop to supply iron and steel works. It was decided that your shop would be nationalised.‘ They wrote down a report with him, I even have a copy here, they confiscated, counted and loaded everything; they blocked his account in a civic bank. However, my father did not have two accounts, he did not have a private one, so we did not have any money at Christmas in 1948. And I went to school.”

“I was summoned to a screening and the first question was: ‘Do you agree with the entrance of comradery armies? ‘ I said: ‘I don´t.‘ - ‘How come?‘ - ‘Well, East German army took part in the entrance of armies. I have big memories of Nazi dictatorship. It is completely unacceptable for me.‘ That took the wind out of their sails, even some of the communists did not know what to say. ‘We postpone the screening until half a year.‘ And again. Finally I stayed there, they did not fire me. I worked as a head of a small construction in the enterprise. But they did not increase my salary during all those years – not until 1989.”

“Department of Human Resources looked for people for extramural studies exactly in 1963. A Mr. Pohorský came. I told myself: ‘Well, I´m thirty-three, I may try it. ‘ I had considered it before. He said: ‘I´m glad that I found someone.‘ He came in a week, apologized to me and said: ‘Mr. Horák, unfortunately, the party organization did not recommend you. ‘”