“Mr. Presl, if you were interrogated the way I was, you would sign your own death penalty!”
JUDr. Jan Haluza was born on 12th July 1914 in Šternov, today's Újezd u Brna. He graduated at the Law Faculty in Brno in 1939, just before the German occupation. From his early youth, he did sports and soon became an outstanding athlete. He brought medals from Catholic Olympics in Vienna and Ljubljana and he won many titles and achieved many records. He was a member of the Baťa Athletic club in Zlín, where he met Emil Zátopek, for whom he became the first and only trainer. After the War he joined the political scene. He became a member of the Czechoslovak People's Party and the chairman of the regional commission of the People's Party youth organization in the Zlín area. In the regional commission he met with Jan Šrámek, František Hála and Adolf Procházka. After the Victorious February 1948, he was offered membership by the Communist Party, which he refused. He was arrested, accused of plotting against the government and sentenced to six years in prison. Then he was accused of being a member of the group connected with Milada Horáková and he went through electricity torture in Uherské Hradiště. The interrogation in Uherské Hradiště finally did not bring any new information, so it was terminated. Apart from several prisons, he passed through camps of the 'Jáchymov hell', including Vykmanov, Eliáš, Mariánská. In the Bratrství camp, he was accused of espionage and was threatened danger of the ‘tailcoat' - execution. During the interrogation he fell ill with typhus and after 22 days of hallucinations he lost his memory. After the release in 1954, he was still watched by the StB who threaten him to cooperate. For several years he worked in inferior positions until he could return to his law practice. After the Revolution, he was honored with many decorations including the golden medal for an honest run in the race of life. He engages in public discussions with the youth.
