We will eliminate religion quietly
Vilém Vogt was born on 21 July 1938 in Boskovice as the first child of his parents Věra and Vilém Vogt. A year after his birth, his father tragically died and his mother, as a teacher, had to move frequently for work. During and at the end of the war he had several encounters with German soldiers. Mum married for a second time, to František Vymětal, and after the war the family moved to Kunčina near Moravská Třebová, which was part of the displaced Sudetenland. In the 1950s, the witness witnessed the forced collectivization and bullying of his mother and his surrogate father. His mother became an uncomfortable teacher, his father was labelled a man who hated work and the family had to move involuntarily to an unsuitable house. The witness trained as a turner and worked for several years at Hedva Moravská Třebová, at the State Forests, later at Vlněna Brno and at the South Moravian Bakeries. In 1970, he married Zdeňka Veselá and they had four children, Vilém (1972-1995, committed suicide), Petr (1973), Tomáš (1980) and Marie (1986). In August 1968, he made the dangerous journey from Moravia to Prague, full of columns of occupying armies. Because of his religious beliefs, he had problems with his superiors during the normalization period. He arranged the transfer of property to his extended family for a friend who had emigrated. He was active in football all his life, raised pigeons and is the author of several improvement proposals. He considers his faith in God to be the most important thing in his life, and currently (2024) lives with his wife in Brno.