I still get goosebumps
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Milada Kohoutková, née Pilátová, was born on 6 June 1954 in České Budějovice. Both her parents worked for the railway, her father Václav Pilát as an electrician and her mother Milada Pilátová as a ticket inspector. In the 1970s, the witness socialised with the community around the České Budějovice underground, attending teas, concerts and discos. Already in Prague she experienced a concert of Plastic People of the Universe, whose performances had to be held in secret. In March 1974, she went to a concert in Rudolfov near České Budějovice, where Plastic People of the Universe were to perform in the Na Americe pub together with other bands. There she witnessed a brutal crackdown by the security forces, during which young people were beaten with batons and chased by a cordon of armed men. She herself escaped unharmed only by chance, but the experience left a deep mark on her and a sense of helplessness in the face of the regime’s arbitrary rule. After the massacre at Na Americe, the atmosphere in the city cooled and the persecution of young people, who were labelled as ‘long-haired guys’ because of their distinctive appearance, intensified. At this time, Milada Kohoutková began to go to Krašovice, where a group of friends built an underground house out of a dilapidated farmhouse - a meeting place for people from the Prague and České Budějovice circuit. Even outside the city, however, they did not escape the attention of the security forces. She experienced police checks both in Krašovice and in the cottage settlement at Pražák. At the end of the 1970s, she married and had two children. She never thought of emigrating. She lived through the Velvet Revolution in České Budějovice, and the fall of the regime was a relief and a chance to travel freely. At the time of the interview (2025) she lived in České Budějovice.
