My parents tried to make sure I had a good childhood
Stáhnout obrázek
Roland Günther was born in Trutnov on 22 November 1936 into a mixed ethnic family. His father Arnošt was German, his mother Alžběta Czech of Jewish origin. Both worked as clerks. He went to a German school in during the war. His father refused a divorce, and the birth of brother Petr saved Roland and his mother from deportation. Only two of his mother‘s 28 relatives returned after the war. Grandmother Marie died in Terezín. The parents stayed in Czechoslovakia after the war. Roland went to a Czech school. Completing primary school, he was not recommended to study for political reasons and trained as an electrician. Then, on an intercession, he finished a high school of communication technology and three years at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague. He returned to Trutnov, and his parents died soon after. Once married, he worked first at Průmstav and then at Elektrokov for 40 years, starting out as a TV set repairman and retiring as chair of the board. He organised cooperation with an East German company in Saalfeld. He was an active member of the Association of Czech-German Understanding for years. He has many interests that include lecturing to the public about regional artists and chairing the Table Tennis and Cactus Clubs. At the time of the filming in 2025 he was living with his family in Trutnov.
