Alena Pavlová

* 1937

  • “On August 20th 1968, I was going to the bus stop to go to work as usual, and suddenly there were (Russian) tanks and airplanes, and one tank was turned upside down and one soldier died there. The place is called Staré Místo, between Jičín and Libáň. As the tank turned over, they were not able to pull him out. And for the following two days we were passing by that tank on my way to work, and of course, that guy was screaming there. It was terrible.”

  • “I grabbed Boženka’s hand and we did not run into the basement, but into the house instead. When we reached our house, bombs began falling – to me as an eight-year-old, they looked like flaming arrows. My mom exclaimed: ‘God be with us and all the evil go away! Children, let’s go inside.’ We remained within the door posts, which were quite robust, and there was a huge crater in the front part of the house where the bomb dropped, and the other bomb was in the rear side by the brook. The house thus exploded while we were with mom under those door posts.”

  • “I married in 1956 and the currency reform took place in 1953. It was another great disaster for my parents, because dad told me: ‘Alenka, if you don’t have to, do not marry. That’s because your dowry is in a blocked deposit. And we will never get it back. That would be a very poor wedding – if you don’t have to marry, do not marry.’ And my husband, who was a very independent-minded man, said: ‘Mr. Zápeca, we don’t have to marry, we really don’t have to. But my parents are already quite old, and I am their youngest son. And my old parents would like me to marry. I would thus fulfill their wish. And if Alenka agrees, do not object against it and we will take care of the wedding ourselves.’ My dad was just staring at him in amazement!”

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    Javornice, 29.09.2014

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    duration: 01:34:46
    media recorded in project Stories of 20th Century
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People should have responsibility for their own lives and for the life of their family

As a young woman
As a young woman
photo: Archiv pamětníka

  Alena Pavlová, née Zápecová, was born as the oldest one of four children in the family of a small trader who dealt with house painting and wall decorating. In April 1945 when she was eight years old, Alena experienced the bombing of her village during which her family lost their house. During the subsequent collectivization process, her father’s free-trade licence became annulled and he became a labourer and later he worked as an innkeeper. Alena Pavlová learnt the shop assistant’s trade and she was working in a shop for her entire life. She married Josef Pavel, with whom they lived in various gamekeeper’s lodges in the Jeseníky region. They raised two sons.