Jan Kozlík

“In this situation, us a spokespersons of Charter 77 were faced with an obligation to write something on the missiles. We drafted a very mild text on us being against Pershing missiles as well as SS 22. Back then, this meant a lot for the secret police. As soon as they had read it on the Voice of America radio, I was arrested. Mrs. Marvanová and Marie Rút were not, if I remember correctly. They were terribly happy. They told me: ‘Mr. Kozlík, we told you that the glass would spill one day. And now you scored an own goal. Now we can easily sentence you for undermining the defensive capacity of the country. You will not be free again sooner than in five years.’ They undressed me and put me into underground jail in Bartolomějská street. I shared a prison cell with some Yugoslav who went crazy because he had withdrawal symptoms. I have had the whole night to meditate over everything. I realized that this was the best thing that could have happened to me. That I would get locked up as a spokesperson, which would not go without the outside world noticing. But, most importantly, that I would get locked up for missiles, which was the topic of all peace movements.”

“My father had influenced me most of all by always tuning in Radio Free Europe or a similar station after listening to the regular news on the radio. Then he would tell me how things were in reality, how did the truth differ from what we were told. From the beginning he put me in a position in which – although no one else gave a damn – I would have to argue against it and form an independent opinion. He was also characterized by never participating in elections after 1948. The 1948 elections were the last ones in which he did vote. When he found out that they were apparently rigged, he decided not to go vote ever again. This caused him trouble, no doubt. Not so much from the secret police, as from the people who told him: ‘This is of no use. You are only going to do yourself harm.’ Even some relatives used to tell him that. ‘Look, you have a young boy and he won’t be admitted to university.’ This has proven to be true. When I was ten years old, my mother had died. That was yet another blow, I could not grasp why it had happened. There are things which a child’s soul can’t comprehend. At that moment, our priest took me aside and told me: ‘This has happened because the Lord has special intentions with you. He has a particular path for you.’ I did not understand it at all. Only later did I realize what he had in mind. He wanted me to study theology. My mother asked him on her deathbed to take care of my upbringing. And this really did happen. He took it seriously, gave me special tasks. We have had special discussions. This way he convinced me that my way was to be different from other children’s.”