Sometimes history is up, sometimes it comes down
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Aikaterini Franc Sgourdeou was born on the Greek island of Samos on 26th April 1935. Her father worked as an electrotechnician, her mother, as most women at that time, was a housewife. She took care of Aikaterini and her older brother. In 1943 her father died under suspicious circumstances after having refused orders from the Italian occupying forces requiring him to increase the power plant machines’ output to produce more light on the island. After his death her mother decided to go to Athens with her children. It was not easy since the ship had to travel through mine fields. The Germans occupied Pireus and later Athens as well. The family wasn’t faring well and moved frequently. In 1961 Aikaterini Franc Sgourdeou was awarded a scholarship which allowed her to pursue a PhD programme at the Paris-Sorbonne University. At a scholar meeting she met her future husband Zdeněk from Czechoslovakia. After marrying him in 1965 she moved to the socialist country. Although the republic recognised her degree from Sorbonne she only worked in her field for a short time before becoming a so-called home labourer. Following 1968 the regime made travelling to her home country nearly impossible for Aikaterini, despite the fact that she still possessed a valid Greek passport. She also became a suspicious person because her high level of education didn’t correspond to her occupation. In 1987 she started teaching Greek. Gradually she managed to create the Modern Greek study programme at the Masaryk University and build an extensive library focused on Greek literature. Along with others she promoted not only the Greek language but also Greek folklore and culture. In 2000 she contributed to the creation of the Lyceum of Greek Women in Czech Republic. She lives in Brno with her family and she still works at the Masaryk University.
