Ing. Blažej Ingr

* 1928

Victim of persecution due the forced agricultural collectivisation, Relative of a political prisoner
25. 2. 1948 - Communist coup d‘état in ČSR, 8. 5. 1945 - End of WWII, 15. 3. 1939 - The Nazi occupation of ČSR, 23. 2. 1949 – Beginning the forced agricultural collectivisation, 1948 - 1955 - Politic lawsuit in the Stalin age, 1. 9. 1939 - The outbreak of the WW2
  • 1
    Přehrát
    Pozastavit

    Interrogation in Špilberk

    (audio)
    duration: 03:00
    Download file
    Info

    “They brought me to the police station under the Špilberk Hill in Brno, and it was just like in detective books. They asked me whether I knew where I was and what had happened the evening before when Mr. Škorpík came and said that sister was missing.... I immediately realized what they were after, and I knew that I had to keep silent about it. I summoned all my courage, and I said that I did not know absolutely anything about Škorpík, because I had been sleeping all the time. But, this young guy slapped me so hard that I fell down from the chair. It was clear to me that I could not give in. He kept shouting at me that I was a Son of a Kulak, and how come that I had not known what they had talked about. And, he continued in this manner, and there was no end to it. Then he was relieved by another guy, an elderly man, who was sweet as honey, and who tried to assure me that we would certainly agree on something and nothing would happen to me.”

  • 2
    Přehrát
    Pozastavit

    Personal assessments in 1948

    (audio)
    duration: 01:19
    Download file
    Info

    “Then there was 1948 and personal assessments were being written, and mine said that I was a Son of a Kulak, or a farmer who owned more land. Or, for example, if somebody was a son of a village blacksmith who shod horses and mended people’s things, and then spent all his earnings on drinking and never really had anything, he was still considered an independent tradesman. And that was wrong, although, in reality, he was a slave who toiled hard as a slave with his hammer.”

  • 3
    Přehrát
    Pozastavit

    Brother in the Auxiliary Technical Battalions

    (audio)
    duration: 01:35
    Download file
    Info

    “The interrogation detention is the worst; they need to beat out of you what they can, and it is horrible. But, then you somehow get out of it, and then it comes back again if you lose the perspective. And, my brother and his friends rediscovered this outlook when they were digging a tunnel to get out. I don’t have letters from my brother, but I know very well how he felt about all that.”

  • Full recordings
  • 1

    Vacenovice, 24.03.2015

    (audio)
    duration: 03:44:21
    media recorded in project Stories of 20th Century
    Download file
    Info
Full recordings are available only for logged users.

I believe in human goodness

Blažej Ingr, as a young man
Blažej Ingr, as a young man
photo: domácí
photo: domácí
Download image

Blažej Ingr was born on January 30, 1928 in Vacenovice. His family farmed on extensive farmland. During the War, the German army came to their village, and they had two German soldiers lived in their house. At the end of the War when the German army left, they were replaced by soldiers from Romania. These soldiers were hungry and were notorious for stealing livestock from people in the village. After 1948, farmers began to be pressed to join the Agricultural Cooperative. The Ingr family did not want to surrender their large farm, but when two of Blažej Ingr’s brothers were arrested as Sons of a Kulak and sent to work in uranium mines, the family eventually joined the Cooperative. Later in his life, Blažej’s daughters suffered persecution as well: they were not allowed to study, managing to get admitted to a university only after the Velvet Revolution. Both of his sons were rehabilitated at the same time as well. Blažej Ingr still lives in Vacenovice and devotes himself to viticulture.

Show witness full story (Česky)
Photos (3)
Links (0)