Helena Fojtíková

* 1939

  • "Even when we were building [the house], my uncle had a woodpile, but of course it was confiscated. He was also building, and we agreed that he would sell us wood for the roof trusses. And that's what happened, because before, people who owned forests had everything taken away, everything was confiscated, nothing was theirs. And so they dumped the wood for the roof trusses there, and unfortunately, as they were driving down, a forester saw them and reported them. And now we got word that they were coming to search for the wood, and one good man, a policeman, [said]: 'Hide it somewhere quickly!' And we dragged the logs up to the barn, our wood! Well, anyone who hasn't experienced it won't understand. I could bite someone for that today."

  • "We were just like that, we didn't even think that it would lead nowhere. I came from somewhere and my mother said, 'Run away, run away, they're taking the reverend away!' But imagine, at the age of ten or eleven, I went to the rectory. I was in the hallway, where Zliča was, I can name him – the one who was taking him away. I was in the hallway with a friend, and we wanted to defend him, I don't know why. But Father Půček came out and said, 'People, please disperse,' because he was afraid that people would get into trouble as well. There was also a wooden fence there, and the men from Nedašov were breaking the fence slats and throwing them [at the State Security] . He was from Horní Lideč. But unfortunately, there was one staunch communist in the parish who reported all those men, and they were all rounded up that evening. I can still hear cars full of soldiers driving around at eleven o’clock in the evening – they were driving to the school, probably afraid that the whole village would revolt again and rise up against them. They also occupied the place with soldiers or militiamen. Those militiamen were also nasty bastards. Lord, forgive me, they are my neighbors, but that's how I feel."

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    Nedašov, 17.10.2025

    (audio)
    duration: 01:03:32
    media recorded in project Field reports
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Together with others, she defended Pastor Půček from State Security

Helena Fojtíková, 1956
Helena Fojtíková, 1956
photo: Witness archive

Helena Fojtíková was born on September 29, 1939, in Nedašov near Valašské Klobouky to the Cícha family. She experienced World War II and the liberation of the village by Romanian soldiers. At the age of 11, together with other parishioners, she defended the Nedašov priest František Půček from the State Security. Many of them were then arrested and taken to prison in Uherské Hradiště. As part of collectivization, she had to go to the municipal office, where she was persuaded to join the unified agricultural cooperative (JZD). Over time, the family’s small farm was confiscated. When she got married, she and her husband Jan Fojtík had problems building a house due to nonsensical measures. They were told where they could build on their own land so that another house could fit there. The witness worked her entire life as a saleswoman in a shop in Nedašov. Her daughter took part in the national pilgrimage to Velehrad, which took place in 1985. After the fall of the communist regime, she briefly joined the local Civic Forum. At the time of filming in 2025, she was living in Nedašov.