Jana Kučerová

* 1949

  • "People will say, 'We'll invite you.' For example, there was a pre-dance at the 'Národák', we performed in the theatre, the Cotters are a close-knit group of people, aunties and neighbours, they have a lot of fun together and create together, I don't know what I would call it, there was a lot of embroidery, singing songs. They're the kind of events that when they're held, the Cotters go there in costume to protect theirs. Here there was a Jaroměř costume, that's gone, so we have a Hradec costume, and there are no other costumes. A Cotter doesn't have to have a house. They were simply neighbours and aunts."

  • "I know there was hockey, but we were in the cinema at the time. Everybody had a transistor so we would know how we play. It was how we first won against the Soviet Union. We all stood up and everyone who had a radio turned it up so our anthem would go. That was beautiful at the time. It stopped, we sat down again and watched the cinema."

  • "I was awakened by planes, lots of planes. My husband says, 'They're having some kind of exercise.' I say, 'I don't know, it's some kind of weird exercise, look how they're flying.' We turned on the TV and I knew what it was going to be. My mom came in and told us we had to get home fast to get there. The boy was three years old, we drove from Lázně Bělohrad, it's thirty-seven kilometres, we drove from morning until five o'clock. We stood everywhere, sirens were blaring everywhere. We had a pram, and when we arrived in Jaroměř, we went home. We arrived at the cemetery and there were Poles there. They stopped us right away. We said that we were going home, that we lived there. Everywhere we went there were Polish cars and soldiers."

  • Full recordings
  • 1

    Jaroměř, 31.10.2023

    (audio)
    duration: 01:35:11
    media recorded in project Stories of 20th Century
Full recordings are available only for logged users.

The Polish occupiers have taken up residence outside her door.

Jana Kučerová in 1989 at the welcome ceremony in Jaroměř
Jana Kučerová in 1989 at the welcome ceremony in Jaroměř
photo: Archive of a witness

Jana Kučerová, née Nosková, was born on 24 April 1949 in Jaroměř. She lived with her parents in Prague and was mostly taken care of by her paternal grandmother. She spent a year in an orphanage in Příbram. From the age of ten she lived in Jaroměř with her grandmother Anna Nosková. After primary school she started to attend the agricultural school in Jaroměř in 1963. In 1965 her son was born and in 1966 she got married. In August 1968, as part of the occupation, Polish soldiers settled around her house. After her maternity leave, she worked for many years at Karosa as a welder. From the 1970s she was a member of the Jaroměř Cotters, and from about 2010 she was their reeve. The Cotters wore costumes, organized balls and dances, participated in the welcoming of citizens. In November 1989, she participated in the general strike on Jaroměř Square. In 2023 she lived in Jaroměř.