Stanislav Duchek

“At that time certain Mr. Jiří Ruml served as a castle manager at Lužany castle. He was the older son of late Jiří Ruml, a journalist and a renown figure of the Prague Spring. He was also the brother of Jan Ruml, later Interior Minister. So he was from a dissident family. And Jirka was a castle manager; and since we just met via the Culture Department and the Nature Preservation... We met quite early on, we spoke and I took him to the working group. Thus in the year of 1989 I was maybe one of those who were the first to instigate such a thing in the district and also in the OMV, where I was a fifth column. So the thing developed in such a specific manner. The activity started in earnest in 1989 at the Lužany castle on the basis of the workgroup and nature preservation. Later everyone went his way of course, guys went to their workplaces all around the district, but in fact it all began there. And of course various kinds of printed material were delivered to the castle much sooner than anything would have been known in the countryside. And even a few years before they would deliver samizdat newspaper Lidové noviny to Lužany that I have been distributing.”

"Maybe I would share a story about what happened in the brewery where I spent quite...a few months for sure. I was cleaning ashes from the furnace at the power plant which was a job being done almost exclusively by criminals or by recidivists. And during the interview which was conducted by – his name was dr. Ascher I would say – he questioned me in quite a weary manner. And I answered him politely and then he asked me: 'Tell me, do you have any education?' And I said: 'I do.' - 'And did you graduate from secondary school?' - 'Yes, I did.' - 'A what did you... You didn´t finish it? You didn´t go to college, did you?' - 'Well I did.' - 'But you didn´t graduate?' And I said: 'I did graduate.' And he apologised and asked me not to be angry as he was used to the fact that people straight out of the penal institution usually applied for the position. I just wanted to mention that.”