Miroslav Urban

“Although the number of people in the square was growing every day, there were still more people under the arcade. We have a beautiful square with an arcade on all four sides. And there stood more people than we were demonstrating. People were still afraid, no one knew how it would turn out, what it would be like. And under the arcade they were just spectators of the event, who could not be locked up. I remember that we began to shout, 'Whoever stands on the sidewalk does not build a republic.' But we were afraid how the general strike was going. Will people come? Will they stop being scared? Will the company employees attend it?”

“The general strike, which started at noon, was suddenly attended by people with banners. Czechoslovak tobacco industry, Autopal, Tonak, huge mass of people. The square was almost full. We were very pleased that people came, that it was not a shame, that they stopped worrying and came to support students, democracy, free elections, freedom of faith. It was a wonderful positive thing.”

“I went to religion class at Tyrš school and there was the headmaster, Mr. Bartoš, a great Bolshevik. At school I tried my best and went out very well with the headmaster and the teachers. I was a good kid, I was not naughty. And if I brought home a C grade, my father would have beaten me for that. That couldn't be. I remember that Mr. Bartoš invited my parents to visit him at school and explained that if I went to religion, he would never sign my application for college and he urged my parents that they would change their minds. They clearly told him that I would go to religion no matter the circumstances. So of course I had a problem getting to any higher school. My sister, who attended Palacký primary school, had a similar experience.”