Josef Benda

* 1927

Celé nahrávky jsou k dispozici pouze pro přihlášené uživatele.

The communists learned it from the Germans and then did it too.

Josef Benda
Josef Benda
zdroj: Archive of the witness

Josef Benda was born on 14 August 1927 in Hronova Vesec. His parents had a farm with 30 hectares on which they farmed. During the war they had to fill supplies and sometimes helped the partisans. There was a Ukrainian farm worker living on the farm. After the war, Josef Benda enlisted for only a few months, because there was a need for labour in agriculture. In 1952 he took over the farm from his parents, three years later he was accused of sabotage and obstructing the economic plan and sentenced. He was imprisoned in Jáchymov and later in Příbram at Bytíz. According to his words, however, he was relieved because the pressure created on him and the supplies could not be sustained. He had to leave his wife and three children at home, the fourth was born during his imprisonment. Three more children were born after his return from prison. The farm was transferred to a cooperative, but due to the infertility of the region, farming ceased. Josef Benda worked on the state breeding farm. One of his children continues the family tradition and is engaged in farming in Horní Vesec. After 1989 Josef Benda was rehabilitated. In 2013 he lived in Hronova Vesec.