Karel Růžička

* 1933

Witnesses of local events connected to WWII
16. 1. 1969 – Jan Palach´s self-immolation
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    A witness to the burning of Jan Palach

    (audio)
    duration: 00:49
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    "The building was open and there were people shouting: 'Look, somebody set himself on fire there, somebody set himself on fire there.' So we ran there and this friend, he was somehow closer to that place, over there, under that fountain, so he took off his coat and threw it at him, because he was in such a state. And then nobody knows, nobody knows to this day, if it was flammable. It was supposed to be non-flammable, no one knows how it actually was. Because they mentioned on TV that it was supposed to be some kind of non-flammable, but it was flammable. If someone changed it for anything else, no one knows today."

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    Invasion in August 1968

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    duration: 00:30
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    „Well, the year 1968, I worked on the subway in Prague. I remember that one when there... I just had a night shift on Wenceslas Square when the planes were flying and my friends and I were saying that it was going to be some kind of exercise or something and suddenly we saw that Russian tanks were behind us, so I didn't know what's going on at all. Nobody knew what was going on, just noone.“

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    His parents' service to Earl Harrach

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    duration: 00:43
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    "Father served as a coachman for Harrach, who he took to fishing, hunting, and so on, and when he wasn't driving, he was hauling wood in the forest. Mother worked for Count Harrach as a cow milker on the farm. At the same time, I don't know, well, their salaries were low, but they had the deputy with whom they fed us as children."

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    Planá nad Lužnicí, 22.02.2019

    (audio)
    duration: 46:57
    media recorded in project The Stories of Our Neigbours
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I was building the subway when the Palach next to us caught fire

Karel Růžička as a young man
Karel Růžička as a young man
photo: archiv pamětníka
photo: archiv pamětníka
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Karel Růžička was born on October 13, 1933 in Planá nad Lužnicí. Both of his parents worked for Count Harrach, who had Strkov Castle nearby. After primary school, Karel started working as a bricklayer and, among other things, participated in the construction of the Prague metro. He was also working on the construction of the Muzeum metro station on January 16, 1969, when Jan Palach set himself on fire at the site. Karel witnessed this and his friend from the construction site threw a coat at the burning student to extinguish the body. Karel has lived his whole life by the Hejtman pond in Planá nad Lužnicí.

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Photos (8)
  • Karel Růžička in 2019
    Karel Růžička in 2019
    photo: PNS
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  • Karel Růžička during the recording of an interview for the project Stories of our Neighbors in the spring of 2019
    Karel Růžička during the recording of an interview for the project Stories of our Neighbors in the spring of 2019
    photo: PNS
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  • Karel Růžička with his wife and parents
    Karel Růžička with his wife and parents
    photo: archiv pamětníka
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  • Karel Růžička, the first school day
    Karel Růžička, the first school day
    photo: archiv pamětníka
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  • school photograph
    school photograph
    photo: archiv pamětníka
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  • Karel Růžička as a young man
    Karel Růžička as a young man
    photo: archiv pamětníka
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  • Karel Růžička fishing
    Karel Růžička fishing
    photo: archiv pamětníka
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  • Recording an interview for the project Stories of our Neighbors
    Recording an interview for the project Stories of our Neighbors
    photo: PNS
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Links (1)

Nečekaný svědek upálení Jana Palacha

  • date:
    02.05.2019
  • medium type:
    Internet
  • medium name:
    Příběhy našich sousedů
  • author:
    Kateřina Skučková