Miloš Starý

* 1954

  • "The parents were worried about us, the father felt it strongly. They kept us at home so that we would not get involved in anything, however, Polish army armoured vehicles were parked right behind our house. It was the Polish soldiers who 'distinguished themselves' in Jičín. They got drunk and one of them shot about twenty-six-year-old Jaroslav Veselý, a well-known local personality and singer, seriously injured his girlfriend Bohuna Brumlichová and also shot Mrs. Klimešová, who was going there. They have a memorial for Letná, and on anniversaries, we put flowers there. On the square there was a big ordeal where people talked - it was still possible then. After 1970, at the time of normalization, this tragedy was no longer talked about."

  • "I remember it really perfectly, because on that fateful day, November 17, 1989, the jubilee 20th anniversary of the November 17 Run was held, which was founded by former teacher Slávek Veselý in 1969 in honour of the events of November 17, 1939, when they arrested students and took them to concentration camps. Moreover, on that November 17th, comrade director invited various communist high positioned members from the region, from the district, there were various secretaries there. It was gloomy that day, the twilight of the gods. I even have a photo somewhere. We're standing there, I'm starting there, the anthems were playing - and those comrades didn't know that their careers were about to end."

  • "My first teacher was my dad, a type of teacher just like Igor Hnízdo. When he came to teach in the borderlands after the war, he was not exactly a supporter of the regime established after 1948. He and several young men there organized a kind of armed coup, they had rifles hidden in the school. Someone told them about it and State Security came to the school to investigate. One of the state security officers was sitting by the piano, on which was a bust of Beethoven. He carved a five-pointed star on his lapel with a nail. My sister also has that bust with the star that my father smeared with ink. However, the most important thing was that the investigators told the father that there was no point in denying it and that he would sign either to join the Communist Party or quit his studies. Dad signed the entry to the Communist Party and I think it haunted him his whole life. In addition, he was very unhappy about it in his old age, especially after the revolution, when all those connections became known.

  • Celé nahrávky
  • 1

    Jičín, 18.01.2023

    (audio)
    délka: 45:42
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu The Stories of Our Neigbours
Celé nahrávky jsou k dispozici pouze pro přihlášené uživatele.

We weren‘t heroes, but we made fun of the regime

Miloš Starý at the age of twenty-five (1970s)
Miloš Starý at the age of twenty-five (1970s)
zdroj: Archiv pamětníka

Miloš Starý was born on November 12, 1954 in Frýdlant. He spent his early childhood in Marenice in the Lužické mountains, where his parents Miloš and Maryška worked as teachers. In 1962, the family moved to Jičín, where Miloš Starý graduated from elementary school and gymnasium. At the same time, he was actively involved in sports, representing the gymnasium in athletics and basketball. After high school, he entered the university of pedagogy in Hradec Králové. He completed the subjects of physical education and Russian in 1978. Already at that time he became interested in art and together with friends organized various artistic and satire events. For example, in 1976 he renewed the tradition of so-called officers‘ parties. After the military service, he went to teach in Špindlerův Mlýn starting in 1980/1981 school year and also became a member of the mountain service. Two years later, he started as a teacher at the horticultural school in Kopidlno, got married and raised three children with his wife Olga. During the Velvet Revolution in 1989, he headed the Civic Forum in Kopidlno and actively participated in local events. In 1995, he finished his teaching career and started his own business. The company he founded later became part of the Algida concern. Miloš Starý worked as a distribution manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. After ten years, he started his own business again. At the same time, he was involved in municipal politics. In 2023, he lived in Jičín and was preparing an exhibition of paintings by Mikhail Ščigol. He continued to participate in the events in Jičín as a member of the supervisory committee.