We’ve been going our own way all our lives
Marie Jakubíčková was born on 10 September 1932 in Skřivany near Nový Bydžov as the sixth of eleven children to Bořivoj and Marie Forbelský. Her parents were farmers who owned 50 hectares of land. Marie grew up in a family full of harmony, love and faith in God. The peaceful course of life was disrupted by the Second World War. One of her father’s sisters married a man who claimed German nationality, and because of this, Marie’s father almost fell victim to the post-war lynchings which took place in the region. In 1947, Marie started to go to the grammar school in Nový Bydžov. A year later, her father was declared to be a kulak by the communist regime. Marie herself had problems at the grammar school because of her faith. There was a risk she wouldn´t be allowed to graduate from the school. In 1951, the family was forced to hand over the farm to a cooperative farm. However, even before that, the communists, with the assistance of armed People’s Militia, had taken the engines out of all their agricultural machines. In spite of regime´s obstructions, Marie successfully graduated from high school and left Skřivany for Kroměříž. She started to work in Stavoprojekt as an office worker, where she stayed until her retirement. She and her husband Josef raised four children: Josef, Tomáš, Kateřina and Ondřej.