Zdeňka Kristová

* 1944

  • „In 1970, during the party checks, the question, of course, was whether we agreed to the entry of Soviet troops. Just because we spent that year in Russia, we knew the atmosphere, we saw how it goes there, who has the power there, who can and who can't. And now the 68th. Well, of course, I did not agree with the entry of Soviet troops. And so that was that, so my comrades cut me out.”

  • „Jan Miroslav was looking for a job for half a year. He was not employed. I never thought it was such a problem, but it was a problem for a person that was used to working. Now, suddenly, he was replying to ads that came out, looking for a position in some economic section of some factory or business. Unfortunately, he always sent a questionnaire or went somewhere in person. There, when they got to the membership section and read that he was expelled, of course, either they would write to him that the position was already taken, or that they would let him know, and of course they did not.”

  • „I hereby give you a notice of termination of employment on the 1st of December 1975 on the grounds that you do not meet the personnel requirements for the required performance and the necessary organisational changes in the Velička ensemble. At the same time, I would like to say that the employment contract concluded by you on 6th of July 1972 will expire on December 1st. That's how it was justified.”

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  • 1

    Brno, 10.06.2021

    (audio)
    duration: 02:14:18
    media recorded in project Příběhy regionu - JMK REG ED
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Disagreement with the August occupation made a culture worker turn into a cleaning lady

Zdeňka Kristová in childhood
Zdeňka Kristová in childhood
photo: Witness's archive

Zdeňka Kristová, born Dupalová, was born on September 9, 1944 in Říčany near Brno to parents Karl and Zdeňka Dupal. There she also graduated from elementary school, after which she studied small-scale arts at the Secondary School of Arts and Crafts in Brno. With a high school diploma, she received a job at the regional museum in Mikulov and joined the youth union. In 1966 she went to study in Moscow for a year. After returning in 1967, she joined the culture department of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Youth Union. In this way, she became acquainted with the folklore that accompanied her throughout her life. In 1965 she joined the Communist Party. She was expelled by the party in 1970 for disapproving of the Warsaw Pact invasion. The same fate befell her husband, the important Czech folklorist Jan Miroslav Krist (1932–2007), who later was not allowed to lead folklore ensembles. In 2021, Zdeňka Kristová lived in Brno.