They slapped my friend in custody, but I told the truth
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Eva Protivánková, née Fialová, was born on 10 May 1929 in Hlubočky near Olomouc. Her father, Adolf Fiala, was a native German, and his mother was of Jewish descent. Therefore, at the end of the war, Adolf and his four brothers had to enter a German labour camp, from where they were liberated by the American army. He went home on foot. His daughter Eva had been speaking both Czech and German fluently since she was a child. After 1939, she attended both Czech and German schools. At fifteen, she joined the power plant in Hlubočky, where she later worked in various office positions. Before New Year’s Eve in 1948, she danced at a village dance with a young man who introduced himself to her as an agent in the service of the West and showed her a large stack of counterfeit banknotes as well as a loaded gun. Fourteen days later, State Security came for her. After five months of custody, the major resistance group Paštěka et al. trial took place in Olomouc. Eva Protivánková was sentenced to five months in prison for not immediately reporting the incident at the dance party, all of which she had already served during her custody. After her release, she returned to her original job. In 1958, she married Otakar Protivánek. Together they raised two children, Otakar and Zuzana. At the time of the interview, she lived in the František Senior Citizens Home in Náměšť na Hané.
