"A complex evaluation was written every year. That was drawn up by the director, what all... and I remember we had this Mr. Headmaster, in quotes. He invited me to come in and sign my complex evaluation. So I read it: I don't participate in art competitions - I won two that year, one regional and one district. I'm rude to my superiors, and it was all defamation, defamation, defamation. And that I was a Pioneer leader. I said, where did he get the idea that I lead the Pioneer, how come I'm not taking part in art competitions when I won them this year? That I'm rude to my superiors, it's only to you... Because - we were walking away from the bus and he kept making dirty jokes. The meeting starts and he's making dirty jokes. Everybody was giggling, laughing. I wasn't laughing. I was rude to my superiors. So I said, 'You know what, get stuffed, I'm not signing that kind of rubbish.' - 'What? That's the first time someone's said that to me!' - 'So it has been me.' I slammed the door and didn't sign."
"[Uncle František Tomášů] went to the field. Boček, the mayor - that is, the chairman of the national committee - also went to the fields, with the cows. They were both Františeks. The uncle told him to go and write a note that a calf had been born. He told him that he was crazy, that he wouldn't go home with the cows now, and that he would write it for him in the evening. Well, some good guy took care of it - and there was an eighty thousand fine for not reporting the calf. And it happened like that repeatedly."
Jaroslava Velartová, née Hrdá, was born on 13 June 1943 in Kostelec u Jičína. She came from a family that was connected with agriculture, education and horse breeding for generations. During the war, the resistance fighter Antonín Zaplatílek hid with the family. She spent her childhood on the family farm of the Tomášů family in Kostelec, which was affected by collectivisation after February 1948. The farm was transferred to the state farm, the family lost most of their property and their horses were taken away by the communists. The family paid fabricated debts for fictitious offences. After the municipal school she studied at the Secondary General Education School (SVVŠ) in Jičín, where she experienced the Prague Spring. After graduation she graduated from the Faculty of Education in Hradec Králové, majoring in mathematics and art education. She worked as a teacher in Jičín and later in Kopidlno. In 1968 she married Libor Velart, with whom she raised three children - Markéta, Lukáš and Darina. Together they bred horses and thirty-five foals were born on their farm. After 1989 Jaroslava Velartová restituted the family farm in Kostelec and subsequently participated in the public life of the village. At the time of the recording, in 2026, she was living with her family in Kostelec and was still breeding horses.
Kostelec quartet around 1912. From left: Mr. Chmelař, Marie Tomášů, Ludmila Tomášů, mother of the witness, and grandfather František Tomášů. Grandfather František Tomášů, the mayor at the time, founded the "Svatopluk Čech" educational club in the village.
Kostelec quartet around 1912. From left: Mr. Chmelař, Marie Tomášů, Ludmila Tomášů, mother of the witness, and grandfather František Tomášů. Grandfather František Tomášů, the mayor at the time, founded the "Svatopluk Čech" educational club in the village.
Front view of the farm in the 1920s. The massive chestnut tree in front of the windows was cut down by the communists immediately after the farm was nationalized
Front view of the farm in the 1920s. The massive chestnut tree in front of the windows was cut down by the communists immediately after the farm was nationalized
Mr. Boček at the Tomáš family. In the carriage sitting witness´s mother Ludmila Tomášů and her sister Marie Kubánková with her son František. The latter died at the age of only four from appendicitis
Mr. Boček at the Tomáš family. In the carriage sitting witness´s mother Ludmila Tomášů and her sister Marie Kubánková with her son František. The latter died at the age of only four from appendicitis
Students of the Jičíněves Primary School during the recording with the witness in 2021. Kevin Horváth, Tereza Janeková, Rozálie Marie Tošnerová, Beáta Zrůstová under the guidance of Mgr. Darina Šindlářová
Students of the Jičíněves Primary School during the recording with the witness in 2021. Kevin Horváth, Tereza Janeková, Rozálie Marie Tošnerová, Beáta Zrůstová under the guidance of Mgr. Darina Šindlářová
