Our faith gave us strength
Lidmila Rajbrová, née Fialová, was born on 2 May 1939 in Strážov in the Bohemian Forest into a Catholic family. Her father Karel Fiala worked as a teacher and was an active member of the Czechoslovak People‘s Party. During WW II both of Lidmila‘s parents collaborated with the resistance and helped people cross the border. After the February 1948 communist putsch Karel Fiala was deprived of all his posts in the party. In 1952 he was suddenly arrested and sentenced for alleged conspiracy with Vatican and high treason to six years in prison. He had served his time in Valdice and Mírov where he had met Gustáv Husák, the future Czechoslovak president. Lidmila and her four younger siblings grew up with their mum only. They were able to hold out thanks to the help of their neighbors and relatives. While Lidmila could graduate from a medical school in Strakonice, her siblings were only allowed to attend vocational schooling. She then worked in the Strakonice hospital and following her 1961 wedding in Prague‘s Vršovice hospital. Her father was released from prison in 1958. He never talked much about his time there because he had to swear to remain silent. In 1968 the family asked for his judicial rehabilitation but these efforts were quashed with the arrival of Soviet tanks. Ever since late-1960s up until retirement Lidmila worked in the Post Newspaper Service. Karel Fiala died in 1982 but his wife Klotilda lived to see his rehabilitation in 1990. Lidmila Rajbrová has two children and three grandchildren. She lives in Prague.
