"They told dad that Adolf Kroupa who lived in Kurdějov near Hustopece had died, that there was going to be a memorial service, and they politely asked dad to give the eulogy. He eventually agreed, we went to Brno the next day and he wrote the speech. When we arrived in Brno, a lady across the street - they were still janitors back then - ran right after us and told us some gentlemen with a black car had asked for us. Indeed, they rang a bell after a while and they were from StB. All the way until the funeral, two people were sitting at our house checking to see who... They wanted the speech, so daddy gave it to them and they approved it. It did not contain anything inappropriate, and they strongly advised him not to change it in any way, and they kept checking to see who was coming. It was primarily because the funeral was taking place on 21 August."
"It was the 'Palach Week' and Václav Havel was in prison as a precautionary measure. They told us at 11 am that we had to spend one hour... they had simply received an order from the district educational board: every teacher in every class was given a mimeographed sheet that was to be read to students. On one side there was a call to students to avoid doing anything... because protests against Václav Havel's imprisonment were going on at that time, and the other side said who Václav Havel was, his complete biography including all his publications, plays, what and where he did, the prizes he won and so on. That's what we had to read to students. In my opinion, it was already a kind of preparation for him going to be elected president; the communists were preparing for it that way."
"As far as political demands are concerned, of course they were there since it was the only art school far and wide, and whatever the party and the government needed, they turned to this school - various signboards and posters and so on. So there were always some political jobs made there, especially for the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. I have this story. We were there once and it was the only time in my life I was there with students. Bulletin boards were being replaced in the corridor at the CPC Regional Committee, this huge building in Burešova Street on the first floor I think. One student was wearing a gold cross necklace around her neck. Someone saw it made this huge fuss - how come, how dare she wear it, and they ripped it off her neck and she almost got in trouble, but eventually she didn't; somehow it wasn't dealt with afterwards."
Jan Rajlich was born in Vyškov on 10 June 1950 to Božena Rajlichová, née Skalická, and Jan Rajlich. Early on, the family moved to Brno where the witness has been based all his life. After graduating from FAST VUT in architecture in 1974, he worked at the State Project Institute of Trade for seven years as an interior designer. At the same time, he worked with his father on graphic design jobs and drew and painted. He taught at the High School of Arts and Crafts in Brno in 1983-1989 and in 1988 he began lecturing on graphic design at the Faculty of Engineering of the Brno University of Technology. He took part in designing the visual identity of Brno fairs and exhibitions, the Brno Biennial and the Rovnost daily paper. After 1990, he designed the brands and logotypes for a number of companies and institutions, including the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Brno University of Technology, and the coats of arms of several Brno city districts. From 1987 to 2004 he was a member of the organizing committee of the International Biennial of Graphic Design and presided three editions of the event.
Jan Rajlich Jr at age 31 in his apartment at Úvoz 88, sitting under his own oil painting of St. Peter's Square in Rome titled "The Pope"; photo Boh. Marčák
Jan Rajlich Jr at age 31 in his apartment at Úvoz 88, sitting under his own oil painting of St. Peter's Square in Rome titled "The Pope"; photo Boh. Marčák
