Karel Kovanda, 1968

The contemporary witness Josef Parlesák in the Memory of Nations studio in 2022

Josef Parlesák in the Memory of Nations studio in 2022

Forester Josef Parlesák in Dolní Lukavice with his sons Pavel (bottom left) and Josef (right), 1939

A wedding photo of the contemporary witness's parents Marie and Josef Parlesák

The contemporary witness's father Josef Parlesák during the mobilization in 1938

The contemporary witness's Marie Parlesáková

The contemporary witness's uncle Bohdan Milec was imprisoned by the communists for eight years

The contemporary witness's brother Pavel Parlesák at the age of eighteen

The contemporary witness's brother Pavel emigrated to Brazil and lived in São Paulo (photo from 1954)

Josef Parlesák in the 1950s

He studied electrical engineering at the University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Pilsen, graduating in 1959.

Josef Parlesák in 1959

The contemporary witness (on the left) worked as an electrical engineer at the ČDK Polovodiče company

The contemporary witness's wife Jiřina Parlesáková, 1964

The contemporary witness's wife Jiřina, née Štollová, with her father Karel Štoll, who worked as a photographer at the National Theater

A wedding photo of Josef and Jiřina Parlesák

Josef Parlesák with his first-born son Alexandr

Josef Parlesák with his son

In 1968, in protest against the Soviet occupation, the contemporary witness started to grow a beard

The contemporary witness served his compulsory military service in an ammunition base in Slovakia, 1961

Jiřina Parlesáková with her son Alexandr in Vienna, where they emigrated (1969)

The contemporary witness's wife and son in Vienna, where they emigrated in 1969

The Parlesák family spent their first years after emigration in Vienna, photo from 1969

A wedding photo of the contemporary witness and his wife