Oldřich Chadima

* 1936

  • "I went to church all the time, I didn't stop. The head of operations, the main construction manager, called me a 'churchman', I was not a churchman, but I went to mass, especially in Trpín, where people were much more religious than in Opatovec. I didn't have any big problems, they wanted me to join the Communist Party, three came to me from the district committee, such good speakers. They said: 'Comrade, we need you, you have good results, and if you were a member of the Communist Party, we could be proud, and we are here for you to sign our application.' KSČ representatives from the company were also present there. Suddenly I heard such a rustling and a guardian angel flew into my head and gave me a hint. And when they asked me: 'So, shall we make an agreement?', I answered: 'We will not, because I know that here in the company the members of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic hold meetings on Sunday mornings, and I have to attend the wholy mass at that time.'"

  • "In those villages, it's not always as breakthrough as it is in Prague or the bigger cities, but it was watched a lot, we were looking forward to it. There were such posters, they were put up in favor of Havel, and not much was known about the dissidents and others around here."

  • "Since my parents had to save a lot at that time to save up to pay off the debt, our life, I don't want to say that we didn't have anything to eat, but we were quite poor and there was no spending money or the kind of shopping that is nowadays they routinely perform. We ate sparingly, I grew up on milk, we had two cows with which our family cultivated the fields. They drove all the way to Dolní Újezd, a hectare and they had some of their own, it belonged to that cottage, and the rest they rented from some farmer and for that they also had to pay certain money every year, for renting that field. We all worked in the family, our parents went to the field and took me with them. Then, as I got a little older, I had to take care of the little chores."

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    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu The Stories of Our Neigbours
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Pray and work

Oldřich Chadima in the graduation photo in 1959
Oldřich Chadima in the graduation photo in 1959
zdroj: Archiv pamětníka

Oldřich Chadima was born on December 1, 1936 as the second son of a poor peasant family in Vidlatá Seč near Litomyšl. He attended public school in Vidlatá Seč and subsequently in Opatovec, where he moved with his family after the war. From an early age, he dreamed of becoming a teacher. After completing primary education, he did not have the opportunity to study at secondary school. In 1953, he trained as a bricklayer. He completed his high school diploma only in 1961. Between 1956 and 1959, he completed compulsory military service with a border company in southern Slovakia. After the Velvet Revolution, he founded his own construction company, which was taken over by his son.