Vojtech Budický

* 1931

  • (Štefan Haško: “I am used to ask the witnesses whether they were able to forgive those, who harmed them the most.”) “I have fully forgiven them, since they alone didn´t know what they were doing. Fully.” (Štefan Haško: “And did you forgive immediately?”) “It took me a while.”

  • “It became much harsher then. They came again: ʻHands behind your back – up – down!ʼ There were three of them around me in the office asking me questions. Now I know those were the cross-questions. My answers were just: ʻI don´t knowʼ - ʻI wasn´t anywhereʼ, simply the negative questions. It made the interrogators really mad. At first they just slapped me from one side, from the other one, I screamed. Then much rougher interrogation began. They took turns and when I got to know the first one, another man came, even harsher. One of the greatest experiences was, when they told me to take off my shoes. They tied me to the chair and tickled my feet. Do you know what is it like?! Up to now when I get my feet tickled, I have goose bumps and the hair I miss, bristle. It was terrible... At first they took one foot, then the other, I yelled and screamed, you can´t even imagine. They slapped me, asked questions in the mean time... and then one of the eager guys knocked out my front tooth. I fell down from the chair, bleeding, they poured some water over me. For a while it was calmer, then they switched and continued in the interrogation. Again I didn´t see anything, didn´t recognize anybody. ʻWhen were you...?ʼ - ʻWhere were you?ʼ - ʻDid you have a gun?ʼ I asked: ʻA gun?!ʼ And that´s why they got mad again. They didn´t get a word from me, since I had nothing to confess. [ ] When they tripped my chair up, I fell and hurt myself a lot. [ ] They picked me up and ... as they hit my back, I fainted. I don´t know how long I was lying there, I felt huge pain in my back and then they carried me to a cell. I wanted to lie down and rest a bit, but I wasn´t able to lie on my back. So I lay prone, although, one cannot lie prone for a long time, since the head is too twisted. [ ] There I even lived to see how somebody hung himself. I don´t know how he managed to have a tie, since we didn´t have anything like that, no strings, laces, nothing alike. One of his co-prisoners tied it so much that we weren´t able to free him. The man was just kicking his legs on the bed [ ] ... and at the very last moment someone released the tie and revived him. It was a terrible experience for me; I squeezed into the corner and ever since I had jangled nerves. It really stroke me immensely.”

  • “There was never communism, but just socialism. And if the socialism mixed with democracy... That would be ideal. Today´s system isn´t quite well accepted – the freedom is misapprehended. The youth doesn´t take it the way it should be understood. And because of excessive benevolence we have crimes, frauds, and so on...” (Štefan Haško: “So since you perceive the previous era as an excessive lack of freedom, the present is characterised by an excessive freedom?”) “Lack of freedom, come on?! I was able to travel to Bulgaria, Romania, to Yugoslavia. I could go wherever I wanted. Yes, I had to report that, but it didn´t hurt. For the salary I had I was able to travel. Now? Now I cannot go even to Bratislava. [ ] If I travel by car to see my son living near Bratislava, it costs me almost a hundred euro, and that is a lot of money for me. Back then I could travel to many places for such money. We went to vacation for one and a half salary – mine and the half of my wife´s – we were out for three weeks and had some money saved yet.” (Štefan Haško: “Didn´t you have a problem to travel because of your past prison experience?”) “The only problem I had dwelled in that I had to report everything when I returned... To say whom I met, what I said, who wanted to know about stuff from me, etc. Well, what did I tell them? Nothing as I knew nothing. I talked about common things, and so on. I never did anything like that and I am not willing to do anything political at all. Except the fact, I am a political prisoner now.”

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Live and let live

Vojtech_Budicky_dobova_fotka_1.jpg (historic)
Vojtech Budický
zdroj: dobová foto: scan a úprava fotografie (od) Vojtcha Budického, súčasná foto: Štefan Haško

Vojtech Budický was born on February 9, 1931 in Hranovnica near Poprad, in a family of higher postal officer. Shortly before completing his grammar school studies in Levoča, at the end of January 1949, he was arrested and after egregious violent interrogations he was sentenced for high treason. According to the reports he was supposed to commit this crime by his membership and activities in the so-called „illegal“ and „anti-state“ organization, which strived for renewal of the Slovak State. Since he was too young when being charged with this alleged offence, he received only a half of the usual punishment - three years of imprisonment. Therefore he served his sentence mainly in Trenčín correctional institution for young, from where he was released on parole thanks to good behaviour after one and a half year. After the release he studied to become a dental technician and he learned how to work with gold. In a short time, however, as a former political prisoner, he had to enlist in the Auxiliary Technical Battalions (PTP), where he helped to built military quarters in bohemian Stříbro. When the surroundings found out about his precious skills, his successful, but also mentally difficult, career had began. His work was comprised of producing golden teeth for various communist officers. Vojtech worked precisely at the National Health Institute in Poprad. For the first time he left this work place because of a fabricated accusation of sabotage and the subsequent arrest. Further decade of his life he worked as a delegationsˈ driver in Chemosvit. After a car accident caused by the other party, he returned to his previous workplace in Poprad. Since he wasn´t able to do his job to his best knowledge and belief, he decided to become a workman in Svit, where he stayed until leaving to pension in 1997. Nowadays he lives in Poprad with his wife, he acts apolitically and tries not to think about sorrows of his past.