Munich

“I knew what happened in Munich more or less from the radio. I used to listen to the radio eagerly since I was a little kid. It was sort of my hobby and I always wished to someday speak on the radio. My wish has come true eventually, but at old age. When I heard Hitler and Göring roaring from the radio speaker I sensed that something was going on. In 1938, when president Beneš was conferring with the envoys of the Germans from the Sudetenland, there was a huge rally of young competitors in the Strahovský stadium. This was sort of a demonstration of national unity and support for the president. They waited forever in the scorching sun to greet and salute president Beneš. The president came to the rally to greet them after the long and painstaking negotiations with the German envoys, which must have left him very exhausted. The story with the rally and the president greatly impressed me. Another strong moment for me was 21 September 1938, which was the day after the night when the British and the French envoys came to Czechoslovakia in order to persuade Beneš to accept Hitler’s demands. My dad, who was very engaged in politics – he was a member of the Barrandov group of Havel – anticipated that Prague was in danger and therefore took us to Tábor into safety.”

• Born on 19 June 1926
• His father was a member of the Interim National Assembly and the Constituent National Assembly
• was a forced laborer during the Second World War, returned to school after the end of the war.
• A graduate of the Business College
• A press officer of the Union of university students in Prague (he was the assistant of the deputy editor of the “Free Word” published by Dr. Miloslav Kohák, the later director of the Czech broadcast of Radio Free Europe in Munich)
• Contributed to Peroutka’s “Freedom Newspaper” and the magazine “Today”
• Was excluded from studying at Czechoslovak universities after 1948
• Was arrested soon afterwards for entertaining correspondence with the runaway student leader Emil Ransdorf
• Spent five years in prison (Pilsen, Bartolomějská, Pankrác Valdice)
• Worked at various institutions in Liberec and Ústí nad Labem after his release
• 1962-1963 playwright at the Musical Theatre in Liberec
• 1963-1966 organizer of concerts of classical music at the Park of Culture in Liberec
• 1966-1976 regional concert manager in the Regional Center for film, concerts and variety shows in Liberec and artistic associate of the Czechoslovak art agency Pragokoncert
• 1976-1986 agent for the Symphonic Orchestra FOK and simultaneously in 1980-1990 guide in the travel agency Čedok
• 1991 protocol officer in the Office of the President
• 1990 commentator for the Czech Radio in Prague (at first for Radioforum)
• Since 1993 commentator for Radio Free Europe in Prague (Radio 6) and columnist for Metro Magazine and Polygon - a publication for Czechs living abroad
• 1996 won the first prize of Ferdinand Peroutka
• 1993 to 1998 member and later chairman of the Council of the ČTK
• currently works for the Czech Radio 6 and the Czech Television
• 2003 won the Medal of the Czech Radio
• 2007 received an annual award of the director of the Czech Radio