Václav Trojan

* 1945

  • “It was quite unpleasant indeed, as they would drag you to be interrogated, just to say something bad about them. They would wake you up at four o'clock in the morning, policemen came to take me to the Ruzyň Prison. I had to get dressed, they were waiting for me outside. They were just ordinary policemen. When I asked them what their job was, they said: 'Look, we have other things to do. But they gave us this order, we are sorry, we don't know what's all about. We will take you to Ruzyň, to our greatest regret.' So they drove me there, at four o'clock in the morning, they would make me just sit there, waiting. After maybe an hour, this interrogator came to pick me up. And I knew already... I knew what to do, not like in 1968, when I didn't know how to face them... After the Charter, after the Charter declaration had been published, I went to a law firm, and I didn't know those people. I just had to pay them this fee, like, I don't know, maybe fifty crowns. Like almost nothing. I just went to consult with this lawyer at Národní Street. I paid for legal advice. I told him: 'Hi, I just signed the Charter 77 declaration, so I can expect I will be interrogated. I would like to know what my rights are, as well as my duties.' And he would explain it all quite thoroughly. So I knew that if they would bring you for an interrogation, the first thing you can do is to take the minutes. You have the right to consult the statute book, to read the law word by word. And he would tell me all these things. So during those interrogations, I would say: 'I have the right to remain silent.' I just had to state this immediate person, and that could be just anyone. As it didn't have to be a relative of yours, just a person you cared about. Those were the things he would tell me. So I had these skills as they would summon me for an interrogation. And it would always end up in a similar way: 'As this immediate person is concerned, I could face charges because of this person, so I refuse to testify. Which wasn't a problem, after this Charter was published.”

  • “So I graduated in philosophy. In 1969, I went to London; I came from there just yesterday. I was visiting Ivan Hartl, who had already decided to emigrate, so I went to visit him, as you could still do this in 1969. I went to the US Embassy and I applied for university in the United States. They took me in, I had to do the exams, there were some complicated questionnaires, IQ tests and math. I was admitted to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the best IT school in the world. They gave me a scholarship and they would admit me. It left me quite flabbergasted. Meanwhile, there was August 1969, and as you know, there were those protests during the anniversary, they shot a student. Well I don't know whether he was a student, they shot a man, that's a fact. I read about it in The Times and I already had a plane ticket to the United States and I had the scholarship. I went to Heathrow airport, with my passport and the plane ticket, and I knew that it would be a one way ticket, that I wouldn't be able to return. I approached this... I gave them my passport and US visa. It was all set and done. But as I gave them my papers at the airport, something happened to me. I told them: 'Would you be so kind and just give it back to me?' I told myself: 'I can't leave now, after they started shooting my friends and throwing them in jail.' And I was so stupid I just went back home. But there's this beautiful story I have to tell you. As I would go... back then, there were many people who left Israel. They were Polish. As in 1967, there was this wave of antisemitism sweeping through Poland and many young Poles left for Israel, but later decided to live in England. And I would associate with all those Poles. And when I came back, I still kept wondering whether I should go to America. As there was still a possibility. There was even this man who gave money so I could buy myself a new plane ticket. And on this one occasion, it was on Sabbath, I visited this Jewish community. As I can navigate in this Jewish world to some degree. So I spoke to this man in yarmulke and I told him about this situation I was in. And he said: 'Well, If I felt that I had home somewhere, I would go there. So if you do feel that that's your home, just go there. But! Never regret what you did.' And this thing he told me led me even to the Charter, as I would go home indeed. Then they would close the borders. I came back just before they would close the borders. And after that, they all went whimpering that they had no passport, that they weren't allowed to go anywhere. But I came back because I decided to. I had no right to whimper. So I went through this era, knowing: 'I don't regret what I did.' And I never did regret it indeed.”

  • “Maybe that's an important thing to say, that my father left the communist party after the war. He left the party in February 1948, even before this coup they made. As far as he is concerned, the story went like: 'I stopped paying fees before it all had happened.' And according to these rules, the Communist party could have expelled him if he didn't pay his fees. But at that time, he was already making those films with Jiří Trnka, so they found him useful, so they would pay the fees on his behalf, but it just didn't help. My father said: 'So I went to meet them at the Central Committee, and I went to this reception they had and I said: 'Hello.' - 'What do you want, comrade?' - “I would like to leave the Party.' - 'So that's the second floor for you.' He said: 'So I went there and there was this man, an honest fellow who had joined the Party before I had.' He said: 'What can I do four you, comrade?' And my father said: 'I would like to leave the Party.” Let's make the long story short. And the comrade said: 'What's your profession, comrade?' And my father knew that this might be a problem. So he said: 'I arrange stuff.' - 'And what do you arrange, comrade?' And my father answered: 'When there are potatoes, I'm arranging potatoes. If there's coal, I'm arranging coal.' Which was true, as we did burn coal, we had potatoes stored in the cellar and when coal men would come he would help them. And the comrade said: 'So you are a carrier.' And my father said: 'Well yes, I'm this carrier of sorts.' He tore the Party membership card and threw it into a bin. My father said: 'In the evening, I already had this call from [Vítězslav] Nezval and I don't know who, Dobiáš maybe, as Nezval was his friend and he was quite close with Dobiáš as well. So that's how he managed to leave the Party, and later, when sending postcards from holidays, he would sign them: Václav Trojan, a carrier of music."

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    Praha, 13.05.2021

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    duration: 01:15:03
    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th Century TV
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    Praha, 13.12.2021

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    duration: 01:54:03
    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th Century TV
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If that’s your home, just go back there. But never regret it

Václav Trojan during the interview
Václav Trojan during the interview
photo: natáčení Post Bellum

Václav Trojan was born on 6 December 1945 to a family of a well-known composer, Václav Trojan senior. He grew up in an environment where creativity and inspiration was a norm, as his father taught him both the history and theory of music, and at the same time he would let him pursue his own interests, especially physics and chemistry. After graduating from grammar school, Václav Trojan started attending the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, but left the school after two years. He tried to find his own way, working as a lighting electrician at the Na Zábradlí Theatre, he volunteered for the Ostrava coal mines, but left after just three months; then he started his compulsory military service, but was discharged after ending up in a psychiatric hospital. After that, he started attending the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, majoring in sociology and philosophy, witnessing the ‘free’ atmosphere of the Prague Spring. In 1969, he won a scholarship to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but in the end, he would refuse the opportunity, knowing that it would mean that he would have to leave the country for good. He decided to stay in Czechoslovakia, working at the Research Institute for Mathematical Machines. He met several Charter 77 declaration petitioners at the place, joining their ranks as soon as in December 1976. By signing the Charter 77 declaration, he made himself a target of the State Security, yet he could keep working at the Institute.