The following text is not a historical study. It is a retelling of the witness’s life story based on the memories recorded in the interview. The story was processed by external collaborators of the Memory of Nations. In some cases, the short biography draws on documents made available by the Security Forces Archives, State District Archives, National Archives, or other institutions. These are used merely to complement the witness’s testimony. The referenced pages of such files are saved in the Documents section.

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Ján Zeman (* 1923  †︎ 2023)

• born December 20, 1923 in Myjava, Slovakia

• grew up with his grandparents after the death of his mother and his father’s emigration to USA

• started working in the construction department of the Tauš factory in Myjava after his studies

• became active in the anti-communist resistance together with his wife Olga in 1949

• his collaboration with Štěpán Gavenda was revealed in August 1949 and he was subsequently arrested

• sentenced to death in a show trial

• his wife Olga Sandanusová was sentenced to fourteen years in prison (of which she served eight)

• spent almost a year on death row in Leopoldov

• spent two years of his sentence in the uranium camps ‘Bratrství’ and ‘Vojna’

• also imprisoned in Opava, Mírov and Valdice

• released in February 1964

• after his release he and his wife stayed in Myjava where he found a job in the district industrial plant

• during the Velvet Revolution he was a founding member of the Myjava cell of the Public Against Violence organization

• served as a councilman in Myjava

• received many awards for his activities in the anti-communist resistance, including the Medal of the President of Slovak Republic

• still lives in Myjava (as of 2020)

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