"As I already said, I used to travel to Choceň Gymnasium every day. There were the three of us going to the same class. Two of us were from Choceň and one of he boy was from Marešice village so we began to talk about what was going on where. Especially this Mirek from Marešice village, our friend and a class mate, experienced the increasing pressure on the farmers, right, because he came from a farmer’s family and his father was known as a farmer too, we already started to think about the politics and that something is probably not right there. Our friend and former class mates began to leave the country and we were talking about why they have left and what were they looking for there... Unfortunately some people talked also about them wanting to leave too. It was probably something like - Oh, why Anthony didn’t tell me he will leave, I would have gone with him, right. That was one of the - I wouldn’t call it an activity, but a question, that has been later discussed at the court hearing. ´ Why was your intention to look for the way to escape the pioneering effort instead of to finding the way to join the endeavor? ´ "
"Before the judgments have been carried out we thought...I will speak for myself: I could never imagine that the court could announce twenty five years, twenty two years...Although there used to be a rumor that the West won’t put up with it, that they have to do something about it. So it doesn’t matter if it’s two or twenty years. But when I heard twenty two, twenty five, I was shocked. You just wait in horror what they will say along with your name."
"I remember something that didn’t exactly help me much. The prosecutor at the court was some Mr. Barbaš Ph.D. He was an older man already then. The lady prosecutor was well known Mrs. Brožová (Polednová is her present surname). She used to be quite pretty girl back then. I don’t think that many people paid any attention to the prosecutor’s speech. Everyone rather kept his own thoughts. I recall the judge asking me: ´ Have your father been to the concentration camp? ´ And I replied: ´ Yes. ´ And he said: ´ And what does he think about you standing in front of the court today? ´ Or something like that. I answered: ´ He is probably very embarrassed for the country, that is putting his son to jail...´ After this the prosecutor jumped out of his seat and said: ´ Your father is attending this hearing so let’s ask him. ´ And I told him: ´ Mr. prosecutor, sir, my father has nothing to do with this process. If you let my father speak then I will not say a word anymore. ´ And that was the end of it. When my parents applied for the release after a year, the prosecutor told them that I didn’t show any signs of reformation and that I was behaving rudely at the court and therefore there is no reason why the release should be carried on."
"I was called up to the regular army troop, if you can call the former 21st regiment in Jindřichův Hradec town regular. It was the last station before the PTP troop, (PTP- former helping technical battalion) and also the very last station for people who didn’t prove themselves good anywhere else. If someone was discarded from the army school for being stupid or just because...he went to the 21st infantry battalion. Or if someone from the tank troopers got into some kind of trouble or someone couldn’t memorize the Morse code they were sent to the 21st infantry battalion in Jindřichův Hradec town. It was a collection of hooligans. Simply who got a stamp for being a disorderly person from the local authority or from the city hall he was sent to...Excuse me, but the Hungarians, Gypsies, convicted people or people who couldn’t fit anywhere, but in this never-do-well group, because the 21st battalion was not a motorized mechanical battalion. It was the infantry - put your gun over your shoulder and walk!"
"The very crucial moment was standing at the court. (At the custody - author’s note) First of all, most of us or 99 percent of us came to a place we have never been before and which we thought we will never be in. You find yourself among strange people who don’t want to talk to you who are very cautious. You get less food which you are not used to, but you have to get use to it very quickly. We arrived on Sunday (to Chrudim - author’s note) and for lunch we had potatoes and carrot. I hated carrot so I said: ´ I won’t eat this. ´ Someone asked me: ´ You really are not going to eat that? ´´ No, I will not ´ I replied. So he ate it and then told me: ´ Just wait a week, then you will eat everything. ´ Of course I did...We have had only 30 ounces of bread for the whole day...Then there was this insecurity what might happen with you. Especially when you hear: ´ You got ten years? That’s good. ´ That’s how people thought there - if it was not for the lifetime or if it wasn’t the rope, it was still OK."
Full recordings
1
Litomyšl - Konfederace politických vězňů, 11.07.2008
Mr. Jiří Kopřiva was one of the students from the State Gymnasium in Litomyšl that took part in the student sabotage of the labor union strike on February 24th, 1948. From 1948 to 1949 he met with his anti-communist friend named Miroslav Matějka - a son of a farmer. They often met at the Restaurant Na Hrádku, where they discussed the possibilities of the anti-regime protest. Their first opportunity came in the spring of 1949 when their Gymnasium classmate named Míla Kohout produced a leaflet entitled Colleagues. He complained about the politics of the Czechoslovak Youth organization and criticized the pressure caused by the Scouting organization Junák. Mr. Kopřiva joined this cause and attended a few meetings. The student group, named Hvězda (Star), was unfortunately dissolved very quickly. It happened rather by coincidence after an unrelated event occurred in June of 1949. Two Technical school students tore down pictures of President Gottwald and the Soviet president J. V. Stalin hanging in the State Gymnasium. As authorities began their investigation they also found out about the student’s anti-political activities. The author of the leaflet was arrested and questioned. His friends and classmates were subsequently questioned by StB agents (StB - former State secret communist police) between 1949 and 1950. The content of Mr. Jiří Kopřiva’s meetings and conversations were disclosed by his friend and were largely investigated. In the meantime, the StB managed to concoct an extremely complex political process. The number one man in this process was named chancellor of the Piarist campus of the Gymnasium in Litomyšl town, Master František Ambrož Stříteský. Between October 9th and 11th 1950 twenty-five people (9 students among them) were handed extensive sentences in prison. Mr. Jiří Kopřiva was accused of treason and sentenced to two years in prison. He served his entire prison term in Zámrsk Youth correctional center. Jiří kopřiva passed away on May, the 9th, 2024.
