Ladislav Vrábel

“In my native village there was a provincial convent of sisters of St. Vincent and brothers Lazarists. Our village has an unsettled history, which really influenced me as well. In 1945 some partisans shot two Germans and thus my village was given a death sentence. So similarly to Lidice, Ladce were supposed to be slaughtered and burned. They appealed to app. eleven priests and monks who lived there and also app. to seventy nuns to leave Ladce. They refused and said, ‘We will stay here and die together with these people.‘ This step made the situation of Germans much more complicated. Finally, there was one very skilled priest Ján Hutyra, who spoke German. He by his wisdom achieved that not whole village but only few houses belonging to partisans were burned and ‘only’ about twenty people lost their lives. When he found out about prepared murdering of twenty people, he said in the chapel in the evening, ‘I made a serious decision here before the Eucharistic Jesus. There are about twenty people arrested, fathers of families and even one seventeen-year-old boy. I offer my life as an exchange for theirs. Whoever wants to offer himself as well, can sign up until tomorrow.’ This way all eleven priests and theology students, as well as nuns signed up. All together about sixty people signed, what was much more than needed. So in my eyes, a priest was a hero that saved my village.”

“In the past everything was being planned. They planned the numbers of cooperators, for example from the ranks of doctors, teachers and the like. And actually it wasn’t that easy to gain cooperators from certain professions. The State Security usually misused some unpleasant events or fears, e.g. if someone had an accident or wanted to travel abroad, or wanted a passport. I haven’t applied for issuing a passport for 14 years, because I knew that in case of issuing it, they used to give people also one hidden paper to sign, which represented the cooperation agreement. ‘If you don’t do this or that, we shall publish that you have signed up…’ And the one could be easily blackmailed. Moreover, if they had or knew something special about this person, they could make his/her life truly miserable.”

“We didn’t know what was going to happen, but our father did not sign it. At last, he was the only one in the village and therefore they threatened him with allotting him app. ten kilometers of land up in the hills, where wild animals would graze down all of his crops. Besides that he would be put in jail for not handing in the requested quotas. Thus he signed it with conditions. For me the most interesting condition he had was that his children would be allowed to study and work without restrictions. Later they didn’t want to let me study at a high school because of worries I would study to be a priest. Thus my mother and I objected since in this case they would have to give us all our land back, as this condition had been stated in the application for entering the cooperative farm. Well, during the high school as well as during my theology studies I was in advantage comparing to my schoolmates – other theology students. Do you know why? I found this out much later, and it might even sound funny, but back then the Minister of Health was Dr. Vráblová, a very convinced communist and probably due to their fear that I (named Ladislav Vrábel) could be her relative, they let me be.”

“So the religious literature was the most precious thing back then. I was asked whether I was willing to accept delivery of books. It was shortly after Coufal was killed and therefore I was strongly aware of what I was about to face and I agreed. I accepted several deliveries without problems, but one of them was supposed to come and it didn’t. We had such a secret communication, we would call each other that we went to cinema and it should be always at least one day earlier than agreed. Of course, our phones were tapped. We counted on that. But I waited until morning, all doors were only half-closed, unlocked, but nothing happened, no one came. In the evening I asked the chaplain to help me with the duties and I went to watch TV news. I remember my mom wringing her hands, when she saw me not taking care of my sixty – seventy students and going to watch news instead… Suddenly publications such as Bible, Ozvena slova (Echo of Word), and Sonina rada (Soňa’s Advice) appeared on the screen. ‘Security organs in Nitra had an extraordinary success in detaining contraband of clerofascist anti-state group, which attempted to subvert our socialist system, and they were also successful in capturing religious literature.’ Afterwards I stopped listening.”

“Well, then I was moved to Ivanka pri Nitre, where the sacrament of confirmation wasn’t served for over eleven years. At school there was a director who fought against the Catholic Church very harshly. And I tried to reach my goal as it is usual in a village – whatever is told to one, everyone knows at once. I didn’t tell anyone, not even to my mother or father who visited me at the presbytery. Yet on Saturday evening, around 10 p.m. when I knew no one would come, I said, ‘We shall have confirmation this year. It’s going to be a surprise. I couldn’t tell this anyone because the school director would surely ban it.’ I knew that one week of school holiday was about to begin and thus on Sunday I announced that every day after 5 p.m. would be lecturing and on Saturday – the exams. The children walked underneath the director’s windows, but there was nothing he could do, as it was holiday. When everybody was signed up for confirmation, I said, ‘Now nobody can take this back, no one can cancel this anymore.’ Yet, during the confirmation the children were supposed to attend a trip for free and whoever did not join the group, would be charged to pay a 150-crown fee. Thus I simply went to tell this to our bishop, who wanted someone to witness this fact. Unfortunately, when I asked people to help me, one willing man came, but said, ‘Father, I am sorry, but I am just a worker and my wife is really worried what would happen with our children.’ So then I took up the responsibility and explained everything to the church secretary and to the bishop according to his appeal. Finally, I also went to talk to the director himself. His explanation about this issue was that it wasn’t meant to be a fine, but a reimbursement from those not attending to the ones participating in the trip, so that they could travel for free. I replied to him, ‘Mr. Director, is Sunday a work day? Or has it been changed by law to a work day? And if it’s not a work day, how can you charge your pupils and punish them with worse marks from behavior for not being at school on a free day? This way you are breaking the law!’ And somehow they backed up.”

“It wasn’t easy to gain ŠtB cooperators from some professions – for example from the ranks of teachers or doctors. If someone talked nicely to them, they would put him on their list, but those who were afraid, were blackmailed. I knew some priests who were literally destructed psychologically and who often got heart attack after the State Security’s ‘visit’. One documented case is the case of Cardinal Trochta. Cardinal Casaroli wrote about this in his book. After a severe heart attack Cardinal Trochta was released from hospital on his own request under the condition he wouldn’t even pick up the phone. However, a drunken district church secretary cruelly came to him, kicked his assistant, who didn’t want to let him in through the door, and loudly yelled, ‘I will kill you if you don’t kick out all of those Salesians from presbyteries!’ After he left, Cardinal managed to say only one last sentence, ‘This is my death.’ And I am sure that this district and church secretary if being still alive, has a nice pension; although, I guess no one actually envies him.”