Následující text není historickou studií. Jedná se o převyprávění pamětníkových životních osudů na základě jeho vzpomínek zaznamenaných v rozhovoru. Vyprávění zpracovali externí spolupracovníci Paměti národa. V některých případech jsou při zpracování medailonu využity materiály zpřístupněné Archivem bezpečnostních složek (ABS), Státními okresními archivy (SOA), Národním archivem (NA), či jinými institucemi. Užíváme je pouze jako doplněk pamětníkova svědectví. Citované strany svazků jsou uloženy v sekci Dodatečné materiály.

Pokud máte k textu připomínky nebo jej chcete doplnit, kontaktujte prosím šéfredaktora Paměti národa. (michal.smid@ustrcr.cz)

Robin R. Zoufalík (* 1958)

• he was born on 28 March 1958 in Prague, Czechoslovakia

• before communism, his father worked an office job and his mother owned a hat shop.

• in 1966, at age 8, his family escaped from the communist regime through Yugoslavia into Austria

• in 1982, he graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with a degree in mechanical engineering

• while in university, he played hockey

• in 1984, he returned to Czechoslovakia with his wife, Katie, to visit his family

• his first job was with an oil service company in the U.S.

• he currently works with an architect doing business development and volunteers as an honorary consul for the Czech Republic

• since moving to the United States, he has lived in Texas, Michigan, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania

Childhood in Communist Czechoslovakia

Robin R. Zoufalík’s family roots in Czechoslovakia run deep, with not only his parents but also his grandparents being born in Prague. His father, Václav Zoufalík, was one of the most accomplished cab drivers in all of Prague, and his mother,  Hana Zofaliková, née Křišťálová, had previously owned and run a hat shop before the Communist takeover in February of 1948. Prior to being a cab driver, his father had worked an office job, but because he was not a member of the Communist Party, he was forced into a different job. Robin Zoufalík’s family – him, his father, mother, and older brother Renee – lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, a bathroom, and an entrance hall. Growing up, he notes that neither of his parents was strict. In the summers, he would swim in the Vltava River, being pulled by a rowboat with his father holding his hand. During the holidays, his family had a traditional Czech Christmas Eve. Up until Christmas, they kept a small carp in the bathtub, which would then be killed and subsequently served for dinner. Their kitchen was so small, though, that Zoufalík “[remembers] the fish jumping on the table”. During summers, they would visit their family‘s summer house in Oleško.

Escaping to Austria

According to Zoufalík, his parents began contemplating escape in the early 1960s. Life was basic and without opportunity for those who were not members of the Communist Party, and over time, they began to desire a better life for themselves and their sons. “There were about eight families that hung out together… and the first one escaped in ‘64”, laying the path for the others. Two years later, when Robin was 8 and his brother was 14, it was time for Zoufalík’s family to make their attempt. His mother had travelled to Austria the year before and had been told that the Yugoslav borders were the easiest to cross, so they arranged to go to Yugoslavia with another family, one of whom was a well-known pathologist in Prague. According to Zoufalík, the two families used that as a “kind of cover”, maintaining the story that his father was “driving [the doctor] to Budapest and Yugoslavia.” They took the bare minimum of items, grabbing just enough clothing, some pictures, and a couple of toys for the children. At the time, the witness did not know the plan to escape – rather, his parents had only told him and his brother that they were going on vacation to Yugoslavia.
Zoufalík stayed in the dark for the duration of their escape – his brother, on the other hand, figured it out relatively quickly. The witness says that his brother figured it out because they “would go to the beach, and then [they’d] go to a border, and then [they’d] go to the beach and go to the border”. The group tried numerous times to escape to no avail. It wasn’t until the final day of their trip that the perfect opportunity arose. The two families had been waiting in their car at the Austrian border for something to happen when a German car with a camper trailer came up next to them. At the moment the gates opened, Zoufalík’s father raced in front of the other car and sped across the border. The witness only found out about the escape afterwards, when the group got out of the car and started celebrating. They happily told the young boy that he was free – and he was never going back.
Once they made it to Austria, Zoufalík and his family moved from refugee camp to refugee camp for about 10 months. The first camp was “basically an old prison”, and that was where it was determined that his family was truly attempting to escape rather than acting as government spies. They were initially met with suspicion due to the type of car his father drove – a Tatra – which was “pretty much a government car back then”. After that, they spent about six months in a refugee camp in Vienna, “which was more like an old army barracks,” where they applied for asylum in the US. Lastly, Zoufalík moved to Reichenau, up in the mountains of the Austrian Alps. It was during this time that they finally received the paperwork to come to the US. The UN provided them with passports and paid for their flights, and on Flag Day in 1967, Zoufalík and his family landed in the US.

Arrival in the U.S. and University

After landing in New York City at John F. Kennedy Airport, the family was left to their own devices. Upon speaking with friends who were living in the city, however, they were advised not to stay. Ultimately, they decided to book another flight and ended up in Houston, Texas. From there, their lives in the United States of America truly began.
According to Zoufalík, the language adjustment was not all that difficult for him to make. Though neither he nor his parents or brother spoke any English, he says that he “picked it up pretty quickly, being an eight-year-old or nine-year-old.” His brother took a bit longer and his parents took a lot longer, but he says that within a year, the entire family could communicate “pretty well.” The difference between school systems, however, was a bit harder to manage.  Zoufalík attended school in Prague up until the second grade, where he “basically sat with [his] hands behind [his] back and listened”. Students didn’t talk and didn’t ask questions, so most of what he remembers is going to and from school. In the United States, on the other hand, in public schools “...if you wanted to learn, you could learn. If you didn’t want to learn, you didn’t learn.”
As a child, Zoufalík, says that he “had zero dreams”. He considered being a CIA spy since he knew the Czech language and knew Europe pretty well, but he didn’t want to give up his anonymity. He also considered being a doctor, but he figured that it would take too long. Once it was time for him to seriously look into careers, he decided to look at what the highest-salaried career with the lowest education requirement was – and that ended up being engineering. After high school graduation and a summer of travelling, in August of 1977, he started university at Southern Methodist University, SMU, in Dallas, Texas. While at SMU, Zoufalík pursued a degree in mechanical engineering through a co-op program in which he worked every other semester in an engineering job. Not only did this allow him to gain valuable work experience, but it also allowed him to pay for his tuition. Besides his studies, he recalls playing hockey, going to football games, and meeting his now-wife, Katie. The couple have been married for 40 years as of this interview.

Returning to Czechoslovakia

In 1984, after graduating from university and marrying his wife, Zoufalík returned to Czechoslovakia for a visit in hopes of seeing family and friends that he left behind. He notes that he’s not completely sure where he gets his feelings of affection for Czechoslovakia from, especially because his brother has “no desire to go back”. However, he thinks it might be because he enjoys experiencing new things and learning all he can, particularly about where he came from. He had not attempted to visit before 1984 due to concerns about being able to return home and the possibility of being conscripted, as the country was still under Communist rule. Once he found out that he would be able to come home, though, partially due to him being married, he decided to make the trip.  Zoufalík recalls:
“It was still communist, so I describe it as going from coloured television to black and white. It was very dark. No one smiled. People just were like, walking around.”

Career and Accomplishments

After Zoufalík graduated from SMU, he says that his first job was “out of school was with an oil service company”, starting in May of 1982 and lasting for only four months due to the oil crisis. From there, he worked at Oldsmobile as a gauge engineer for six months, and following that, he became a sales engineer for a train company in Washington D.C. – and “that’s what got [him] to the East Coast.” Currently, he does business development for an architect, and his job entails finding her projects and securing revenue for the company. Additionally, he also works in consulting with sales and business development, runs a tour company in the Czech Republic called “Travels with Robin”, volunteers with the Rotary Club, works as an honorary consul, and keeps up with various Czech business endeavors. 

Gratitude, Regret, and Advice

Zoufalík says the most important person in his life is undoubtedly his mother. For him, “she’s the source of everything.” He also mentions that his in-laws were very important as well, as are his lifelong friends. As for advice for future generations, he says to: “Choose to be happy. Believe in yourself. Take chances. Don’t be scared. Explore. And have faith that everything will turn out perfectly.” The most important thing for living a good life? “Friends,” he says.
“You can always get a job. You can always find a place to live. But if a friend asks you [for] something… you do it. If someone gives you an opportunity to do something, do it. Don’t say no. Say yes every time.”