Classmates enjoyed calling me kulak
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Jan Král was born on 9 September 1944 in Český Brod into a farmers family as one of three children. In January 1951, the so-called forced administration was imposed on their farm and in the autumn of that year they were evicted to the nearby village Rostoklaty. His father, František Král, was forced to keep working on the nationalized farm and so witnessed the degradation of the former family property. Many of the residents of Rostoklaty showed negative attitude towards the family of involuntary newcomers, and the witness faced bullying from his classmates at school. Due to the intervention of the local communists, his older brother was not able to enter the secondary school where he had been initially admitted. Jan Král trained as a bricklayer, then he went to evening classes at a secondary engineering school for five years. After 1989, the family regained their farm in restitution process. After the fall of the communist regime, the witness ran a construction business. In addition to this, he was involved in farming and the family tradition was continued by his son. At the time of filming (2014), Jan Král was living in Úvaly.
