If I hadn’t had such a committed father, the punishment would have been much harsher
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Josef Tkáč was born in what was then Gottwaldov (now Zlín) on 17 February 1953. Both his parents came from Slovakia. At first they lived in a small apartment in a Bata house on Podvesná Street, later in a larger one on III. Zálešná. His father, Petro Tkáč, joined the Communist Party right from the beginning of his work in Svit and became the chairman of the housing commission for many years. In contrast, his mother Helena, née Džupinová, was a strong believer until the end of her life. At the age of sixteen, the witness unsuccessfully attempted to cross the border into Austria. He escaped with only a suspended sentence, but the possibility of studying was closed to him. He trained as a milling machine operator and completed his military service in Písek in 1972-1974. He also worked as a driver for the Connections Assembly Plant in Prague or in the Svedrup metalworking cooperative. After 1989, he started his own business - with a partner, he founded the company TAŠ, operated a sawmill and a swimming pool in Malenovice. In 2023 he lived in Zlín.
