Interview with contemporary witness - 1st part

Finally, I can write to you about the surprise, that I mentioned in my last article. I have a chance to do an interview with a contemporary witness (a woman, 83 years) who experienced a period of Normalization, Velvet Revolution and Disintegration of Czechoslovakia. It was great to learn so much from a person who lived through this period. Before we start, I would like to thank this wonderful and strong woman.

Since I have already written an article about the Velvet Revolution, we could start with it:

1. What did you do during the November Revolution? How old were you?

I was 53 years old during the Velvet Revolution. I watched all the events closely, especially I listened to a banned radio station Free Europe. I was also very involved in the workplace, collecting signatures for the general strike and convincing co-workers to support students, which were mostly against the regime.

2. What were your views on the Revolution? Did your opinion differ from the people around you?

I liked the idea of the Revolution with great hope for a free life. After 40 years of oppression, I was extremely happy that something like this will happen. Some people were as excited as I was, some waited for it to turn out, and some rather didn't comment on the events. They were simply scared.

3. Have you or your neighborhood been persecuted by the regime?

My whole family was affected by the regime. Communists took my father's property, moved us out of my mother's birthplace and eventually arrested my father, he was an enemy of socialism. I wasn't allowed to go to college, I had to work as a normal worker. Then I got to university, but in the last year, I was suspended for cadre reasons.

4. Can you recall what happened on November 17, 1989?

November 17 was a working day for me like everyone else. In the evening, I listened to the banned radio station Free Europe, where they reported that university students from an authorized gathering at Albertov issued a parade to Wenceslas Square and then to Národní třída. There the police intervened hard. Since my son, a medical student, attended the demonstration, I got mad with fear and started calling for him to college. He wasn't there, so I was impatiently waiting with fear as the situation unfolded. Only after midnight, my son arrived home. He told me in detail what was going on. He and a group of other students managed to get to Mikulandská Street, where good people took them to their apartment and hid them there. Our media informed us that students attacked police officers, tossed paving stones, etc. But I knew the truth. I also used it in the work where the party members tried to falsely inform us.

5. Did you take part in the November demonstrations?

I took part in almost all demonstrations in Prague with great enthusiasm. I first saw and heard Václav Havel on the balcony of Melantrich. The atmosphere there was wonderful, people were excited. After many years of lack of freedom, we applauded enthusiastically, screaming and clinking with the keys.

6. How did you feel after the fall of communism? Do you perceive it positively or negatively?

After the fall of Communism, I was really happy, full of ideal and hope. I was grateful that my children had a better future. I was just sad that my communist-persecuted father did not live to see it.

7. Communists are still part of our political sphere, do you think that is good?

I do not consider it good that the Communists participate in political events in our country. The Communist Party was to be abolished immediately after the Revolution.