The entire dynasty - Catholics, Christian Democrats, eagles. Simply the very worst that could happen to the regime.
Mr. Josef Odehnal was born on May 17th, 1930 in Proseč. After finishing his third year at the local grammar school he became an apprentice in his father´s carpentry workshop. Josef Odehnal Sr. died in 1945. Mr. Odehnal‘s family members were Catholic democrats and the children were members of the Eagle Organization. In February 1948, they found themselves in conflict with the incoming regime because of their views. Josef Odehnal Jr. was open about his attitude towards the regime, which caused him trouble on Easter Sunday, 1948. During the Easter whip near Proseč, he stopped to chat with three young communists, resulting in his two weeks of imprisonment for slandering the Soviet Union and spreading false information about Jan Masaryk‘s death. Almost one year later, he and his friends established an anti-Communist group in order to track the excessive activity of Communists in their village. More importantly, they intended to print and distribute leaflets highlighting the communists‘ injustice. The group decided to shoot into the apartment windows of prominent communist Matěj Čouda. Although Mr. Odehnal showed the others where Čoudek lived, he did not participate in the shooting as he knew he would be called upon to provide an alibi. During the investigation of this case, two of his friends managed to escape abroad, and the group disbanded. Mr. Odehnal‘s friend, Josef Lněnička, from the nearby village of Budislave, carried on the actions of the group along with a few others. However, this move against the regime did not last; Joself Lněnička was arrested. Six months later, the ensuing investigation led the StB agents to Josef Odehnal. He found himself in court along with eighteen other individuals, some who had nothing to do with the case whatsoever. In 1950, Mr. Odehnal was convicted during the Budislav group case to fifteen years in prison. He served his sentence in the Uranium mines in Rovnost in the Jáchymov region and in Bytíz in Příbram region, until 1956 when the case was re-opened. After his release, he was unable to return to carpentry, and despite being seriously ill, he worked in a quarry for four years. Presently Mr. Odehnal lives in Proseč and runs his own roofing company.