"They spotted a young guy in the border area, once again. They put me to their cab - a military car - and took me to Znojmo. From there, they took me to Brno. From Brno to Olomouc. There was a network of roads used by buses carrying prisoners. Everyone was given a loaf of bread and margarine - two or three kilos of bread for three days. They told us that if we attempted to escape, they would shoot. This was the point. Also, in the 50s and 60s, they carried out night interrogations. They would let us sleep for a bit and then call us back two hours later."
"While undertaking our novitiate, there were four of us in the lab in Mařatice. In 1956, we founded the League against Bolshevism. There were four of us and one was in charge. He told the head of the party: 'Mr. Chair, choose a linden tree to be hanged on.' There was a huge linden alley there. He said: 'Přemek, I hadn't done anything.' Back in 1956, they were very scared."
"When I returned, I was in Italy. There, they told me I had leprosy. I even spent six months at a clinic. They treated me and then said it was a mild type. I was even awarded a pension because of that. I asked my superior to let me go to Spain where they had more experience treating the disease. I got to a facility in Spain. There, they told me I didn't have leprosy. I met a Jesuite there and he said he'd take care of me. He got me to Bolivia. There, I worked as a private practicioner and later as a medical doctor paid by the state."
Jan Palacký was born on 21 December 1937. In 1956, he secretly joined the Jesuit Order and then tried to emigrate. He was caught at the border and sentenced to five months in prison. In 1959, he was sentenced again - this time for being a member of the Society of Jesus which was illegal under communism. He received four years in prison for subversion. He was released on amnesty in 1960. He secretly finished his novitiate, worked in various blue-collar jobs and at the same time went to study philosophy to the Polish Jesuits. In 1968, he made use of the political thaw, got a passport and went to a tour to Vienna. He never returned home. He left Austria for Italy where he finished his studies and in 1971, was consecrated to become a priest. He served as a chaplain in a military hospital. Based on his experience working with sick people, he decided to study a medical school. His superiors were disapproving because at that time, the opinion was that a priest should not be a medical doctor. In the 1980s, he treated people suffering from leprosy in Madagascar, Spain and Bolivia. He also still served as a priest. For a short time, he worked as a practicioner in Albania. In 2010, he returned to the Czech Republic. He died on December 31, 2018.
