Judged for listening to the radio
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Jan Karas was born on June 24, 1937 in Pičín near Příbram. After the end of the war, the family moved to Munich near Mariánské Lázně, where they settled and worked as farmers. He started going to school in 1943 – first in Pičín, after moving to the border, then in Munich and later in Mariánské Lázně. In 1951, his parents had to “voluntarily” join the unified agricultural cooperative (JZD). After completing elementary school, he began studying mining in 1951, where he remained until his first arrest. Because of the information, he was convicted in 1953 for distributing leaflets. After his release, he did not enjoy his freedom for long. Again, on the basis of information, he was sentenced to four months for listening to Free Europe. On appeal, they reduced his sentence to one month. He was expelled from JZD. In 1954 he went to Mariánské Lázně, where he worked as a stoker, handyman and kitchen attendant. He received one salary for three functions, the base was CZK 720. He also met his wife, started a family. In 1959 - 1996 he worked at ČSAD. Jan Karas also traveled a lot, he liked the Czech Republic the most, according to him it is the most beautiful country in the world. As a tourist, he was in Sochi, Russia, Siberia and Baikal twice. He also traveled the entire Balkans, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia. To this day (2019) he lives in Mariánské Lázně.
