Milada Kučerová

“Professor Patočka died and since we had been doing these sessions, philosophy seminars, we of course went to his funeral. Naturally, they called us in afterwards and pretty much closed us down. Both my husband and I. I couldn’t work in a group anymore, neither for theatre nor for the movies. I thought about what I was going to do. I had already had my children and I always used to make toys for them, so I started making toys, even larger objects. Either people who came here bought it, or embassies bought it for their private collections.” – “You started doing that in the 1970s?” – “Yes, in the 1970s.” – “Was it enough to make a living?” – “I also cleaned, that was my basic income, in Pragensia and in the Culture Research Institute, both kind of obscure organizations.”

“They used to call me in for questioning but I loathed them so much that I always refused to sign the statement. During every interrogation I just sat there and clammed up.” – “Why did they call you in?” – “Because of the magazine. And then it leaked out that something had been going on at Pavel’s cottage too, so they did a house search in our absence which was revealed by our neighbor, this old lady. Because they had been incautious and moved the curtain and she noticed that there were strangers in our apartment. Then they took Rudolf away.” – “This interest of the State Security, the disgrace of the family…” – “It lasted up until 1989.”

“A committee was set for a certain date and, together with other colleagues, we would bring our work and the committee would give its opinion on it. I remember I made some dolls and they didn’t like how the materials were connected, because they were so rigid. If it was wood, it had to be wood only, if textile, then just textile. There couldn’t be a shiny ribbon on a doll made out of natural materials. Their ideas were so rigid. By being in the design section, with toys falling under that category as well, they also dwelled on the toy’s functionality. Those weird plaster dolls of mine could never pass.”

“We lived together [with father Kamil Pixa – one of the founders of State Security]. If I can be brutally honest, I remember how much I loved my dad’s polished officer boots. I was three years old. I remember they squeaked. And I loved squeaky shoes. And only much later… you know, after a long time... there was the awakening.” – “What was the rude awakening? Figuring out what your dad did?” – “Figuring out what the boots meant.”