MUDr. Jan Reiser

* 1952

  • „Dobrý den, já jsem Jan Reiser, já jsem se narodil v Praze, ale už nemluvím česky dobře, zkusím to anglicky. I was born in Prague to Czech parents and in 1960 we left Czechoslovakia and moved to England. My parents subsequently moved to United States after many years here (in UK).“

  • "Now I speak, I’m thinking in English, in English terms, I have English historical background, I think myself is English now. Although I’ve married an Australian and my children are both Australian and English. Due to Brexit I may have to resurrect my Czech citizenship so I can keep going to Europe. I was looking for it, it’s probably possible, I was born there, and my parents were Czech. I may need somebody to interpret to do the papers. (laughing)." „Nyní mluvím a myslím anglicky s anglickými výrazy. Mám anglické vzdělání a historii, myslím, že jsem Angličan. I když jsem se oženil s Australankou a moje děti jsou Angličané a Australané zároveň. Kvůli brexitu možná obnovím svoje české občanství. Už jsem se na to ptal, mělo by to být možné. Narodil jsem se tam (v Praze) a moji rodiče byli Češi. Asi budu potřebovat někoho, aby mi tlumočil, až si budu vyřizovat dokumenty.“

  • "He has written some of these stories in his book. I know very little more than is in the book. Because it wasn’t subject we really talk about. Occasionally he would come out with some stories about it, often if there were another adult or somebody of his age particularly interested but it was not something he discusses with us children with any details. He was very unbitter about his times in the war and so very positive about people he met and the work they did." „Popsal některé historky ve své knize (Arnošt Reiser, Útěk). Neznám toho o mnoho víc, než je té v knize. Nebylo to opravdu téma, o kterém by otec často mluvil. Občas zmínil nějaké historky, většinou když přišel nějaký další dospělý, zejména pokud to byl jeho vrstevník. Normálně o tom s námi dětmi nemluvil. Ale v jeho slovech o válce nebyla žádná hořkost a vždy viděl lidi a jejich skutky v pozitivním náhledu.“

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    Hitchin, England, U.K., 30.07.2018

    (audio)
    duration: 59:08
    media recorded in project Stories of 20th Century
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I may resurrect my Czech citizenship due to Brexit

Photo of Jan  Reiser
Photo of Jan Reiser
photo: Hynek Moravec

MUDr. Jan Reiser was born on 22 June 1952 in Prague where he lived until the age of eight. Nowadays, he speaks Czech with difficulty and as he mentions, only about topics that were close to an eight-year-old boy. His parents Arnošt Reiser and Ruth Reiserová survived the Holocaust. His father Arnošt Reiser (1920 – 2015) worked as a physical chemist at the University of Chemistry and Technology. He could not see any future in living in Czechoslovakia. In 1960, the family left for a holiday in the then German Democratic Republic intending to emigrate to the West. They jumped off the ship in the Danish port of Gedser. They settled in Great Britain. Jan Reiser graduated in Medicine in London, and he started to work as a paediatrician. He got married to an Australian, his children live on different continents, and his younger brother and parents moved from the UK to the USA. Nowadays (2018) at the threshold of retirement, he works part-time and lives in Hitchin, north of London.