Zdena Obrová

* 1931

Svědci lokálních událostí z éry komunismu
5. 1. - 21. 8. 1968 - The Prague Spring
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    Taking cover in a shelter

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    "I remember going to the shelter at night. As the siren went off we would run towards the shelter. It happened often... We also used to go under some bridge, to our neighbor's cellar, a shelter where we would spent the whole night... This wasn't nice." - "What did it look like in a shelter like this?" - "It was awful." - "How many people?" - "Lots. Like thirty... People from the neighboring houses, some of them not even wanting to come. I remember that we always had a suitcase packed with food ready and that we carried it over to the shelter."

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    Employment in the Motorlet factory

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    "I had spent seven years at home with the kids." - "So your husband provided for you?" - "Yes, he worked in Motorlet as the director's secretary." - "Had you then also joined the firm?" - "Yes. My husband graduated from technical school, went to do his conscription and then started in the factory." - "Was your husband also a communist" - "Yes he was and so were his parents."- "When did you get the job in the factory?" - "I started there in 1960. My son was born in 1953 so he was seven years old then." - "What did you do there?" - "I started in the storage where I had worked for two years before transferring to the control department."

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    Communist Party benefits in Motorlet

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    "I am not aware of having any benefits as a party member in Motorlet. My husband had some since he worked for the director but in fact... Everyone thinks that working for someone important means having it all but it wasn't the case. When they were deciding about holidays in the mountains, it was the same for everyone. There was a workshop committee there which made the decisions. The Communist Party would write assessments on people, the way they acted etc. This was happening as you can see from the documents. This is the way it was." - "Were you also involved in this?" - "No, I was just in the party but had no functions there."

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    v Praze , 11.12.2015

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    duration: 42:09
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I was just a common member of the Communist Party

Zdena Obrova's portrait
Zdena Obrova's portrait
photo: ED

Zdena Obrová, née Najmanová, was born on 19 October 1931 in Prague. As a girl she had witnessed both WW II and the February 1948 communist putsch which she celebrated with her parents who remained faithful to the Communist Party throughout all of their lives. She trained to be a dressmaker but never worked in the field. She and her husband Miroslav Obr had two sons both of whom passed away already. Since 1960 up until her retirement she had worked in the Walter/Motorlet factory in Prague. She remains a member of the Communist Party, unhappy with the post-1989 political development.

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