Vladimír Špirk

* 1947

  • “It went on the television again, where it was said that he was the one appealing. All of it is traceable – whether he had that checkered jacket on, or not. If I am wrong, or right, as I talk about it after so many years. Nevertheless, some time had passed, and he appeared on TV in a similar spot again, in which he refused any speculations about him doing it under pressure. Thus, we know that once we handed the clothes over to him, they must have shot him while he was repenting. Only then it became clear that his sentence was reduced by one year to that two and a half years. And, on the same day, they shoot another spot where he refused that the investigators would exert any pressure on him. It is all because there was not any other day we were giving that jacket to him. It was only on that day.”

  • "I was walking around the yard once like that when suddenly – that was on that day we were supposed to leave for the meeting in that city named Vinařice – and suddenly, I see and hear a fire truck to start moving forward – the same truck that was at the power plant. Heard the first hit, and the signal 'burning burning' began. Then the doors opened, and I remember who he was, I see it clearly even now; and he said: 'Hurry up, hurry up, jump on, jump on!' Well, I did not know what was going on, as I thought I was supposed to go and help with some fire. He started moving with me, coming closer to the gatehouse, he pushed the horn then, and that was the moment I realized something was wrong, that he would want to kidnap me, preventing me from leading the group. And as we were approaching, the darkness surrounded us. You can still see it from the power plant; it is there, the situation is identical. We were approaching the main corridor, and he, as he had to slow down a little bit, he did not stop, and I opened the door and was willing to get out. It was when he started being afraid. I got out and went back to the power plant.

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    Hradec Králové, 14.08.2019

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Vladimír Špirk was born on March 7, 1947, in Brno. He spent his whole childhood with his family in Holice, located in eastern Bohemia. They used to live in the former villa house of Dr. Machnik. He was trained as a chemist. During the 1970s, he was introduced to the teaching of the Jehovah‘s Witnesses by a colleague of his. Following his beliefs, he refused to attend the second army exercise. Thus, he was sentenced to serve sixteen days in prison. As such, he ended up in the Prague-Ruzyně jail, where he worked at the front desk - accepting new prisoners - and also met with Václav Havel, Ota Ornest, Jiří Lederer, and František Pavlíček there. Upon release, he started to work at the Chvaletice power plant. He has been living in Přelouč since 1978 and remains active within the ranks of the Jehovah‘s Witnesses.