Viktor Olos

* 1927

  • “I met Štefan Nahálka when I was a student; he taught me philosophy for two years. Then he had to go into hiding and he asked me if he could come to our place. I said that I would ask my father. Dad said: ‘Tell him there`s only one room and a kitchen, it won`t be any special comfort.` I showed him the edge of the village and told him not to walk up the village so he wouldn`t be seen. He left the road, walked around the village and came to our house from the brook´s direction. He knocked on the window: ʻCome in, Come in.ʼ So we made few changes. Mum, who used to sleep on the sofa by the stove, went to sleep in the kitchen. I left the bed, dad stayed in his place and Nahálka lay down on my place.”

  • “Miško Okál came from Bratislava, he was an undergraduate there. He brought the book that we were yet just translating – a missal. He had it nicely printed. Suddenly someone knocked. ʻYes, please.ʼ I stepped out. ʻAre you Viktor Olos?ʼ ʻYes.ʼ ʻCome with us.ʼ I said: ʻMišo, look, they came to arrest me.ʼ They stopped the car in front of the house and led me out. Interestingly, as I learned later on, it was all planned in advance because in our backyard was a local guy with a rifle spying on me. He belonged to the ŠtB. Well, he was very thorough. I didn´t get involved.”

  • “Suddenly, they called me to the headquarters. There was a table, a chair, a piece of paper and the commander told me: ʻYour father filled an application for remission of your sentence. Sit down and write – There is full religious freedom in Czechoslovakia.ʼ I didn`t sit down, neither touched the pencil. I stood still and said: ʻAre you serious, Commander?ʼ `Yes, I am. It´s entirely up to you, how we compensate you and the presidential office will take it into consideration, accordingly.ʼ ʻThis isn´t right, commander. We should have never met. Sorry, but I can´t accept that.ʼ I was at the door when he asked: ʻHow long have you been in the Czech Republic?ʼ ʻFour or five years.ʼ ʻWhy don`t you speak Czech?ʼ ʻI would never expect this from you, commander. What do you think? Only because I am eating Czech bread I have to speak Czech? I am a prisoner here but when I`ll return home to our Tatras and I`ll see and talk to Czechs, I won`t be asking them to speak Slovak. They`ll speak their mother tongue and I`ll speak mine.ʼ His response: ʻI must tell you I´m not going to grant you the conditional release.”

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    obec Hubová, 03.11.2015

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    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th century
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In the camp I learned to do a good job, which helped to obscure my gloomy thoughts

P1330395.JPG (historic)
Viktor Olos
photo: dobové foto: archív V. Olosa, súčasné foto: Anna Jacková

Viktor Olos was born on August 4, 1927 in the village Hubová. His father Ondrej Olos was a shoemaker. His mother Katarína (née Jarošová) took care of the household and their sons, Viktor and three years younger Vojtech. Viktor went to six-year elementary school in his native village and then he studied at grammar school in Ružomberok. Viktor Olos comes from a family with strong Christian beliefs and was an altar boy from an early childhood. After graduating in 1947 he decided to enroll at theological seminary in Spišská Kapitula, where Bishop Ján Vojtašák worked back then. However, he didn`t manage to finish his five years long studies, because in 1950 the seminary was forcibly closed down by the communist government. Viktor Olos went home and worked as an accountant in Mošovce, where he assisted with administration work for the establishment of agricultural cooperatives. Later in 1952 the State Security arrested him. More than a yearlong investigation was carried out in Ružomberok and led to the trial, which took place on January 14, 1954. After the Olos & co trial, he was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment for associating with young worshipers and for hiding a priest, Štefan Nahálka, who was being wanted. He was transferred to a labor camp in Valdice where he was processing feathers. After a year he was moved to camp Vojna (War) in Příbram, where along with other inmates worked on building sites. In 1958 he was released from prison and after his return home, he worked in timber yard until 1968. Since his Catholic beliefs kept strong through his prison time as well as the following years, he decided to enroll at the Faculty of Theology in Bratislava and to go back to his studies. In 1970 he was ordained a priest in Bratislava and worked as a chaplain in Ružomberok. From 1975 until 2006 he was a priest in Valaská Dubová and then he retired. To this day he regularly celebrates Holy Masses in Ľubochňa.