That morning I came to school, it was covered in transparents, 500 pupils standing in a row from the gatehouse to the main entrance to the school. “Kratka is against trade union Stolar, she wants to abolish them. She’s egoistic, only interested in herself, not in the good of our school.” Such slogans. I was shocked, but I had to go to the school, there was no way in… And insults, loud and vulgar. That was the worst part of my life, these 50 meters through pupils, whom I haven’t even taught.
“Well, we had a boarding house in Zvolen, where it still actually is. And behind it a crossroad. And below the dorm, there’s a road leading to barracks. And when the army arrived, it was tank after tank. And at that crossroads, there was a soldier, who stopped traffic and allowed only tanks to pass. The protest consisted of throwing things onto white circles painted on the military cars and cabins, which resembled targets. We were throwing electric motors, bottles, everything. Suddenly, a tank stopped on the crossroads, turned towards us and aimed the barrel on the dormitory- onto us. We lied down, below windows, under window sills. It was a terrible feeling, I still recall that fear.”
Jarmila Kratka (née Richtarikova) was born on June 21, 1949, in Vzenica, into the family of a millowner Jozef Richtarik and housewife Anna Richtarikova. Already in childhood, she had a difficult experience with communist regime. Their mill was expropriated and they were persecuted as kulaks. Jarmila was a pupil of primary school in Hlinik nad Hronom, later, she attended chemical highschool in Banska Stiavnica. She studied at College of Forestry and Wood Technology in Zvolen– Faculty of Wood Technology, specialization Mechanical Technology (1968-1973). Here, she experienced student uprising against the invasion of The Warsaw Pact Army, since Soviet soldiers were housed next to dormitories. This incident had further consequences, and 60 students were expelled from the university. After finishing her studies, Jarmila started to work as a “head of the department” in factory Preglejka Zarnovica. Later, she started to work as a teacher at vocational school in Zarnovica. After the Velvet Revolution, she was briefly its headmaster. In 1990, she founded a company with her husband, which is still active.
Prvá trieda, ktorú vyučovala Jarmila Krátka. Jarmila = prvá zľava v dolnom rade.
First class, which was taught by Jarmila Kratka (first from the left in the lower row)
Prvá trieda, ktorú vyučovala Jarmila Krátka. Jarmila = prvá zľava v dolnom rade.
First class, which was taught by Jarmila Kratka (first from the left in the lower row)
Meeting of ROH in a cottage under Vtacnik.
From the left, headmaster Vojtkova, deputy directior Valach, Jana Herkova Gabriela Hajnovičová, Lila Dvořáčková, Jarmila Krátka.
Meeting of ROH in a cottage under Vtacnik.
From the left, headmaster Vojtkova, deputy directior Valach, Jana Herkova Gabriela Hajnovičová, Lila Dvořáčková, Jarmila Krátka.
