They were celebrating peace. Then a bomb fell, and the girl’s arm stuck to her body only by the fabric of her dress.
Milena Hercíková was born on January 3, 1936, in Újezd u Brna. During WWII, she lived through bomb attacks by American and Soviet air force, aimed to destroy German arms industry in Brno area. On the day of liberation, on April 24, 1945, she lost her arm during one of the last bombings. Her brother Jaromír, who was three years older, died in it. She and her family subsequently moved to Liberec, where they witnessed the forced expulsion of Sudeten Germans. She graduated from F. X. Šalda Grammar School, then got a degree from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, department of dramatic literature. Her area of choice was reciting. Twice, she came first in the Wolker’s Prostějov national reciting competition, and so did the reciting club at the Na Jeřábu school in Liberec, which she had founded. Her husband Václav Hercík, who was one of the founders of the Technical University in Liberec, lost his job due to disapproval of the Soviet occupation in 1968. She was commissioned to establish a dramatic literature club at the People’s Arts School in Liberec, which she ran for many years. She trained many a successful actor there. She is the author of several poetry collections and her memoir. In 2021, she received Liberec City medal for her contribution to the city’s education and culture.