Regina Tulachová

* 1953

  • "My mother had two siblings and her brother Jenda was an active athlete. He was involved in gymnastics and during the first republic he participated in various social events, where he also took his little sister. And because he was also interested in aviation, he took her to a sports day where aviators were also present, including his acquaintance Bedřich Krátkoruký. My mother was very beautiful and Bedřich Krátkoruký fell in love with her. She probably didn't even notice it, but he really liked her. And now the next thing that happened was my mother going to England, and when the war broke out, the airmen decided to fight and fled to Poland, then from Poland to France, and when France fell, then to England. And he realised that my mother was in England, looked for her, wrote to her, and it was love as old as time. And since one didn’t hesitate during the war, they got married."

  • "My mother then became pregnant, but unfortunately she lost the child after a terrible birth. The doctors thought she wouldn't even survive. My mother then had major health problems on top of the war and air raids. Her husband was completely distraught and unhappy that his baby boy had died, and even though he didn't have to fly anymore, he decided to keep fighting. And then he died as a result."

  • "When my mother came back, our dog Nera also came back with her. They were driving through a completely shattered Germany. Kilometres of burned out trains, well it was horror. When she heard what was happening in Germany, she was terrified. The train stopped in Stuttgart for an hour. My mother said she had to at least take Nera for a walk. But somehow Nera ran away, they missed the train and my mother stayed in Germany. Fortunately, she took her purse and passport, it was a learned skill of hers. But then when she saw the American jeeps, she realised that at least she was in the American zone and they would come to an agreement. Somehow she got to the main station, the American staff was there and she told them what happened to her. But the next train didn't leave until a week later. They had a problem with where to accommodate her. So they said that they would house her in a labour camp, but they wouldn't have food for her there. When they went back to the headquarters, there was a German woman who knew English and helped translate. She said she would take her in. As a result, my mother ended up in a German family. The German still lived with her sister. It was evening, they were drinking coffee without sugar, shining a lamp, Nera was lying at her feet, and now they started to tell stories. They were the wives of enemy soldiers, but they began to take out photographs and cry together. One's husband died at the front, the other's partner died and their father also died. My mother took out the photos of her airman that she had in her purse, and this is how the women of both enemy nations cried under that lamp after the war."

  • Celé nahrávky
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    Rychnov u Jablonce nad Nisou, 24.07.2022

    (audio)
    délka: 01:24:53
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of 20th Century
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Mother lost her child and her beloved RAF pilot during the war

Regina Tulachová, 1968
Regina Tulachová, 1968
zdroj: witness's archive

Regina Tulachová was born on October 27, 1953 in Rychnov near Jablonec nad Nisou. Her mother, Miloslava Pohnětalová, lived in England during World War II and was the wife of the elite Czechoslovak RAF fighter Bedřich Krátkoruký. After the death of her husband and the end of World War II, she decided to return to Czechoslovakia, where in February 1948 where the communist regime caught up with her. In an effort to help persecuted people, she and her brother transferred several people to the Federal Republic of Germany. Miloslava then had to take refuge in the borderlands due to political problems and found a new home in Rychnov near Jablonec nad Nisou. She married Petr Tulach, and in October 1953 their daughter Regina was born. However, the family was still under political surveillance and their homes were often searched. After elementary school, Regina Tulachová wanted to continue her studies at a secondary technical school, but due to political reasons this was not possible. At that time, Miloslava Tulachová began to initiate her daughter into politics while listening to the BBC together and borrowing banned films and literature. After training as a hairdresser Regina Tulachová started working in this field, but had a severe allergic reaction and had to leave the profession. She then worked in the jewellery industry or as a deputy manager in a local stationery store. The change in political conditions in autumn 1989 was welcomed by the witness and her mother with enthusiasm and they participated in demonstrations in Prague. They were keenly interested in politics and the first free elections, travelled to Western Europe and could read any kind of literature. After the fall of the communist regime, Regina Tulachová opened a jewellery store in the town hall building in Jablonec nad Nisou and designed her own jewellery for modelling agencies. At the same time, she took care of her sick mother until 2009. Not long after her death, she met her future husband, Milan Michalica, whom she married in 2020. At the time of filming (2022), she lived in Rychnov near Jablonec nad Nisou.