Václav Stieber

* 1936

  • “They invited my mother to the National Committee, stating it must be addressed, and I know from the member of the committee, they wanted her to file for divorce. Claiming they'd like to help her, but they can't help a wife of a dangerous immigrant, in such case, of course, they can't help. They tried to persuade her, she is harming us since we are only children and with good grades. She entered the office of the committee and asked what was going on, then she said to the man, from whom I have this information: "Bilek, already in school, you did wrong and were of no use. I see you continue with that." With that, she slightly disturbed the scenario. They explained to her, what needs to be done for our good. She looked at them and allegedly told:" Look, gentlemen. When I married my husband, I promised to stay with him in good and bad. As I observe, the good is over. Now, only the bad remains, but since the promise lasts, I won't divorce." They threatened her, they'd take us away, since our financial situation is unsustainable, and we'll be put into an orphanage. I have forgotten.. she said she won't divorce, she made a promise, and the promise lasts. That they should not mingle in it, she'll sort it out somehow. She slammed the door and left. Reputedly, they sat there and consulted what to do. It wasn't their idea, but order from the regional committee. They received an order, to investigate Sieber's case. They were didn't know what to report, what to do. Suddenly, the door opened and my mother stood there like Libuse when she foretold the glory of Prague with a finger pointed upwards and said:"We got married in the Saint Wenceslas Chapel." She slammed the door for the second time and left."

  • "I was in a warehouse and suddenly a green sedan, a Skoda, arrived. For a long time, I didn't like green sedans. Two gentlemen stepped out saying that they needed me, that I should go with them. I said I had to be there. They said: 'It's prepared.' I found myself in that Škoda and we went to Kladno, which is 15 kilometres from Strašecí. There, for the first time, I felt the stress when one walked, they open the door and the bars fall behind you. The first is still manageable, but when the third falls, you realize, damn, I cannot call for help from here. I found myself in a room, it was dark. That's where the "mixer" started. One was the "nicer one", as in the detective stories, the other harsher. They said that the only thing they wanted from me was that they knew people believed me. They wanted me to tell him, what do people think, because mistakes are being made. That they understand and want to change it. That they would always just want me to tell them something so they could fix it. I was older already, I had heard something about it. We arrived there at 10 am and I left at 9 pm. Before they started, they introduced me there, lights were on, and there were papers in rows on the table. They said: "Look, you can choose." And there were applications for all the possible schools that were available. To high school, the current grammar school, but because I painted, also to art schools, only maybe drama school wasn't there. Wide selection. They said:"Just to let you know, we are serious, you can choose, what you want." We started with the debates but were unable to come to a resolution. One of them, as they shone a torch into my eyes, his hand always reached out and he kept hitting me in the nose. It got me on the nerves."

  • "I remember a wonderful experience when [Mom] said, 'We're going to see Daddy.' She picked us up and we took a train to Prague, to Pankrác, that we were going to visit. Of course, we were not allowed inside as children. Mom said she would like to talk to someone, about how long [Father] would be there, that she was alone with the children, that she needs to arrange herself accordingly. Old lady, who was sitting there, said, 'Noone here could... only...there goes Comrade Prosecutor, ask him." Mother must have subconsciously taught about that, we formed such "sculpture composition", as in grandmother's valley in Ratiborice. She pushed us in front of herself, she stood in the back and said:"Mr. Prosecutor, if I could ask you." He stopped by the window, in the backlight, and I recall only one thing, he had such a triangle head, two small teeth in the front, protruding ears with veins visible in the backlight. My impression was - he's a bat. I didn't say it. The debate did not last for long, they dissolved our "sculpture composition" sooner than we could have asked. I don't know what he told my mother, I don 't remember it, but when we got outside, we were in Stromovka, it was our ritual, family ritual when we went to Prague. We got a bun with salami. And we were without father again."

  • Full recordings
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    Praha, 27.01.2020

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    duration: 01:52:32
    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th Century TV
  • 2

    Praha , 02.03.2020

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    duration: 01:17:30
    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th Century TV
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I’ll return on the first tank, my father promised us

Václav Stieber in 2020
Václav Stieber in 2020
photo: natáčení Post Bellum

Václav Stieber was born on September 1, 1936 in the family of Václav Stieber and Amália, née Stadlerová, in Nove Strašecí. His father worked as a criminal judge, was a devout Catholic and a member of the Czechoslovak People’s Party. After 1945, he became a judge of a special retribution court, which dealt with cases of collaboration during the Protectorate. However, during the period of growing influence of the Communist Party, he refused to make decisions under the baton of the Communists and the race councils, and therefore he was eventually removed from this position. The day after the February coup, February 26, 1948, he was arrested and imprisoned in Pankrác. Thanks to the prison doctor’s benevolence, he managed to escape and cross the border after half a year, emigrating to the United States. The family - his wife and three children - were left without resources. The witness soon became the sole breadwinner of the family. After graduating from middle school in 1951, he joined a construction company. He managed to obtain a blue book - a certificate of permanent release from military service for health reasons, so he did not have to enlist in the Auxiliary Technical Battalions. From 1960, he worked in the company Středočeský obchod with textile, first in the promotional department. While employed, he graduated from high school and the Faculty of Law and remained in the company as a lawyer. From 1966, his father came to Czechoslovakia to visit, but the rest of the family did not consider emigration. In the 1970s, Václav Stieber came into contact with Catholic-oriented dissidents, such as Václav Malý. At the end of the 1980s, he took part in a demonstration on Wenceslas Square. In November 1989, he became involved in the headquarters of the Civic Forum, and after the first post-November elections, he became a member of the Czech National Council for two years. He has lived in Nový Strašecí all his life.