Vladimír Hrbek

* 1934

Boy Scouts
1968 - 1970 - Second renewal of Junák, 1989 - Third renewal of Junák
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    Trails and the oath

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    "There were trials for beginners, the first level and the second level. There was a brochure where the tasks for passing the beginner's test were outlined. Those who did not passed them were not allowed to take the oath. At first we had to complete all the tasks which were required for passing the first level. If we passed the first level, only then could we go on, for example to the Three Eagle Feathers." – "You have gotten the Three Eagle Feathers?" – "Yes, I have them." – "And what was the oath ceremony in your troop like?" – "It was always a festive occasion. It took place at the end of the camp. There were the fire guardians, a ceremonial roll-call, the scout uniform, flags, patrol flags, and guests. The guests were usually parents, some older scouts who arrived, or villagers whom we had invited. They like to come because we helped them in the fields during harvest time, and so on. For us boys, the Three Eagle Feathers was the ultimate achievement."

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    Tadpoles in soup

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    "With the boys we used a kayak to paddle down the Dyje River. One day it took some of them a long time, and we were waiting for them to bring water. Eventually they did bring water with them. When we had our soup at noon, we found that there were tadpoles swimming in it. We found out that the boys had taken the water from the river, and we had used it to cook soup for lunch." – "And did the soup taste good?" – "It was good."

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    Shooting around the camp

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    "One more thing I remember was our first camp in 1946. We were camping in a place which was very close to the Austrian border and members of Bandera's bands were roaming there freely. We had our camp in that place and we could hear shooting at nights.” – “You weren’t afraid, grandpa?” – “I don’t know whether I was afraid or not. But I have to say that we were not really afraid, because children were sort of tougher then. Those of us who were twelve or thirteen…For us, it would be shameful to show fear."

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    After 1950...

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    "The principles remained ingrained in us. Relation to nature, to animals, friendship, the right conduct in the forest and attitude to one another. Then the skills we had learnt – starting a fire, cleaning up, outdoor trips, observing the nature at night… This has remained in us and we made use of it. Is there anything better than to sit around the fire with three, four, five or ten friends, who have an understanding of each other and talk and sing together? This is the friendship and the fraternal relationship which is one of the fundaments of scouting."

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    Dividing the Scout property after 1950

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    "Then came the year 1950. What was it like at that time?" – "At that time, the patrol leaders, and the second leaders or their deputies took the chronicles home with them. We didn't give them to anybody. We gave away some of the equipment for free. Some people valued the symbols... We hid our totem pole, and the patrol members took the small things with them. We didn't surrendered any of the Junák (Czech Boy Scouts) organization property."

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    Mikulov, 25.10.2011

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When we were twelve years old, it would be shameful for us to show fear

Vladimír Hrbek
Vladimír Hrbek

Vladimír Hrbek was born February 12, 1934 in Jemnice. He joined the Boy Scouts in 1946, and he has always remained faithful to the movement, with the exception of the imposed interruptions of activity. After some time he became the second leader and then the leader of the patrol Lišky (“Foxes”). In 1950, scouting was banned by the regime and their activity in Jemnice thus came to an end. Vladimír began commuting to Ostrava to do a part time job there at that time. Many of the former members left home, but several of them still persevered and kept meeting, although not under the official Junák organization. They met at their old campgrounds and talked about their experiences as scouts.Vladimír participated in the restoration of Junák (Czech Boy Scouts) in Jemnice in 1968. Due to his busy work he was no longer able to fully join the life of the troop, but he was one of those who fully supported their activities and provided material support for the scouts. However, the next ban on scouting came shortly after. In 1989, Mr. Hrbek was again present at the restoration of the Czech Scouting movement. He still serves as the leader of a group of about sixteen Old Scouts.

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Dějiny skautingu v Jemnici

  • date:
    29.10.2002
  • medium type:
    Internet
  • medium name:
    ABAHOA - Informační portál ORJ Třebíč
  • author:
    Adam Slaninka