August 1968 changed my life
Download image
Václav Lukášek was born in Jihlava on 24 June 1940 as the only child to Anna and Jaroslav Lukášeks. His father worked as an accountant, his mother was a housewife and got a worker job after the war. The family left Jihlava in 1941 because of the escalating bullying and aggression of the German population against the Czechs. He spent his childhood in Rasošky and witnessed the local events of World War II, including the liberation of the village in May 1945. He trained as a turner, then completed a technicla high school in Hradec Králové. In 1958-1960 he served with the air force in Přerov. He met his future wife Marie during his military service, they got married soon and raised three sons. He played football since early childhood. After his service, he was offered a transfer from Dukla Přerov to TJ Uničov where he worked at Uničovské strojírny as a budgeter. He also travelled abroad for the company. In August 1968, on the eve of the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, he returned from a business trip to Moscow. Shortly after, he was called from the company as an interpreter to negotiate with Soviet officials. He was subsequently interrogated by the State Security over his open opposition to the invasion and laid off in 1972. His children were not allowed to study because of their father’s political profile. He spent the rest of his professional life until 2000 as a driver for ČSAD Olomouc. He never joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and refused the offer to cooperate with the StB. In 2025, Václav Lukášek was living in a home for the elderly in Šternberk.
