Vlasta Parkanová

* 1951

  • "When the demonstrations took place in August 1969, I was here on Wenceslas Square. I was also here with a classmate, but he was already studying journalism and at that time he was working at the Agricultural Newspaper, which had a building that probably doesn't even exist today. I think it was the corner building that they tore down. That was the editorial office of the Agricultural Newspaper." - "I think it was the corner of Opletalova Street and Wenceslas Square." - "It's possible. I don't know. Well, I had been injured at the time, I had really limited movement in my left leg because that leg had been in a cast for five months and all strength had gone there. It was unreasonable to go to those demonstrations in that condition, because if something had gone wrong, I would not have had a chance to leave quickly. And there was also one day when they were coming from the top at the museum, and they were driving these fire trucks, what do you call them, these water cannons, and they were also letting gas into the underpass. I hope I remember it right, or it was already the danger. We needed to escape, and of course the underground hadn't been built then, but the underpass was already there. And the entrance that was the closest for us to get out was to Jindřiška Street. Thanks to this colleague, a classmate, a friend who was from the Agricultural Newspaper, and another classmate of his, I was saved from being picked up."

  • "My mother and I were already living alone there on Hlavní třída (High Street), today there is the Hotel Palcát, it's probably a place that many people remember. That's where the old flat buildings were being built, so that's where we lived. So I could see it right from the window or under the window. So we'd gather up there and wait for them to come. And then, because I was in such a group of these rebels, but guys, I almost couldn't keep up with them when we then were running after the tanks, and we were either throwing something at them or we were holding the Czechoslovak flag by the four corners. So it was a killer pace, I remember, I was hardly able to run that fast."

  • "I probably felt from a pretty early age that I didn't know where I belonged. Even in that extended family, among the relatives, that I always felt alone or just different. Music helped me to anchor myself, and also the District Library in Tábor, where I was all the time. I could read very early. I know they always said to me, 'Don't sit at home, you're always lying there in books.' And that was a world that was wonderful for me and shaped me and helped me tremendously." - "As you talked about that feeling of otherness or loneliness, why was that? Because there weren't enough kids around you?" - "Not really. But I don't know how to say it." - "You weren't sociable?" - "I think I grew into it quite a bit, but I had to get to everything on my own. There weren't really any kids or adults around me that were more stimulating to what I wanted, which was the books and the music and all that. Just that desire for knowledge and to get out of that normal everyday routine, that was something that I shared. I think my mother would have shared that if she didn't have so much on her plate, but otherwise there was nobody like that in the family."

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    Praha, 30.07.2024

    (audio)
    duration: 01:51:21
    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th Century TV
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The thing I disliked about communism was its stupidity and lack of freedom

Vlasta Parkanová in 2024
Vlasta Parkanová in 2024
photo: Post Bellum

Vlasta Parkanová, née Trnovcová, was born on 21 November 1951 in Prague. She spent her childhood in Tábor with her mother and grandparents. From an early age, she enjoyed music and literature, which helped her to anchor herself in a society where she felt lonely. In 1967-1970 she studied at the Tábor grammar school. In July 1968, she applied to join the Club of Committed Non-Partisans (KAN). She lived through the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops in Tábor, where she took photos of the subsequent events. In Prague, she participated in demonstrations during the first anniversary of the occupation. In 1970-1975 she studied at the Faculty of Law of Charles University. She then worked as a corporate lawyer in various companies. From January 1990 she served as a co-opted deputy. In December 1991, she became a member of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA). She was a member of the Commission for Supervision of the Displacement of Soviet Troops. She served as Minister of Justice from 1997-1998. She was then Minister of Defence from 2007-2009. In 2024 she was living in Sezimovo Ústí.