Moravian Diary
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A TWENTIETH-CENTURY MORAVIAN VILLAGE DIARY The first page of the diary (actual size 29cm x 21cm) Aloisie Rychlíková A Twentieth-Century Moravian Village Diary translated and edited by John Beasley To Anna and Jií, with thanks for all their help Publishers’ Preface This diary gives a graphic account of what it was like to live in the south Moravian countryside during the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. It outlines the known history of the writer’s family and village down to 1942, based on archival material, family tradition, local record books, her grandmother’s memories, and her own personal experience, and then gives a first-hand account of what happened subsequently: the latter part of the Second World War, the liberation battle of 1945, the post-war reconstruction during 1946-47, the disastrous harvest of 1947, the Communist take-over in 1948, the collectivization of agriculture, the brief political thaw of 1968, and the subsequent Soviet-led invasion and repression. The writer, who was our son-in-law’s great-aunt, had no more than a village school education, and such people do not normally keep diaries extending over more than thirty years. She therefore writes from a viewpoint which is very sparsely represented in the literature, and what she has to say will help to round out the picture for all who are interested in the history of twentieth-century Europe. This translation is being distributed via the Internet (initially through web site www.jsbeasley.co.uk). It may be downloaded for perusal or printing without charge, and copies already printed and bound will be available from The Czech Centre, 13 Harley Street, London W1G 9QG, England, e-mail [email protected], as long as stocks last. We are happy that anything in it be quoted and indeed have produced it in the belief that what it contains it is worth quotation, but we ask anyone quoting from it to do so fairly and with proper acknowledgement. We have no rights in respect of the manuscript, which remains the property of the Rychlík family in Moravia, but we are willing to forward enquiries from Czech-speaking readers. John and Sue Beasley 7 St James Road Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 4NX England www.jsbeasley.co.uk November 2011 Contents Sketch maps loose insert Acknowledgements 6 Translator’s introduction 7 Chapter 1 1645-1774-1918 15 Chapter 2 1919-1937 21 Chapter 3 1938-1944 29 Chapter 4 1945 45 Chapter 5 1946-1947 60 Chapter 6 1948 68 Chapter 7 1949-1950 75 Chapter 8 1951-1953 89 Chapter 9 1954-1957 103 Chapter 10 1958-1963 115 Chapter 11 1964-1967 125 Chapter 12 1968 134 Chapter 13 1969-1974 138 Translator’s postscript 153 Appendix A Two traditional carols 154 Appendix B The writer’s notes on the T9šany estate and its owners 156 Appendix C Textual and other notes 157 Appendix D Notes on Czech pronounciation and grammar 167 Acknowledgements In addition to those who helped with the translation itself, whom I shall be naming at the start of my introduction, I am grateful to Josef Rychlík and Marie Rychlíková for their hospitality over many years, to Josef for entrusting the manuscript to me and for lending me Vermouzek’s book and some local maps and photographs, to Luboš and Megi for reading through the draft translation on behalf of the Rychlík family and verifying that nothing had been included which ought to have been left out, to my cousins Richard and Myrtle Caplis, whose branch of our family remained in rural Northampton- shire after my father’s mother had moved away, for reading through the penultimate draft and verifying that what I had inferred about pre-war village life made at least approximate sense (oh yes, said Richard about one incident, something just like that happened in Oakley), and to the gentleman on duty at Pitstone Green Farm Museum one day in the late summer of 2008, who, having heard what I was doing and what I wanted to know, kindly ushered me under the guard rope and showed me a pre-war British sowing machine in detail. - 6 - Some other places mentioned in the text Sketch maps to go with “A Twentieth-Century Moravian Village diary” (maps giving greater topographical detail can be downloaded from the Internet) Boleradice A village 8 km SSE of Tšany ejkovice A village in the wine-growing area, 20 km SE of Tšany Chrlice A village 12 km NW of Tšany T šany watercourses Dub)any A town in the mining area, 30 km SE of Tšany and 5 km N of Hodonín Nesva3ilka Hodonín The principal town of the “Moravian Slovak” region, 35 km SE of Tšany Hustope3e A town 12 km SSW of Tšany Jihlava A town and regional centre, 75 km WNW of Brno Mill Komárov A suburb of Brno, towards the SE K8enovice A village on the railway, 12 km NNE of Tšany Kyjov A town 10 km N of Dub)any Líše) A suburb of Brno, towards the E 1780s houses * * Malom8ice A suburb of Brno, towards the NE Moutnice backing on to 100 105 Mikulov A town on the Austrian border, 30 km SSW of Tšany northern brook Mod8ice A village 7 km S of Brno Olomouc A city in Central Moravia, 60 km NE of Brno Ostrava The principal city of Northern Moravia, 140 km NE of Brno Poho8elice A town 20 km WSW of Tšany Original Rajhrad A town 12 km WNW of Tšany houses Ratiškovice A village a few kilometres E of Dub)any set back Rosa8ín A hamlet now coalesced with Moutnice Original from brook Šternberk A town 15 km north of Olomouc houses Svitavy A town 60 km N of Brno set back Smithy Manor Terezín A concentration camp in Bohemia, 50 km NNW of Prague from brook etc house T8ebomyslice A hamlet now coalesced with Žat3any etc T8ebí3 A town 50 km W of Brno Valtice A village on the Austrian border, 35 km S of Tšany Velehrad A town in Eastern Moravia, 50 km E of Tšany Velké Pavlovice A centre of wine-making, 15 km SSE of Tšany Vojkovice A village on the river Svratka, 12 km W of Tšany Zlín A town 70 km E of Brno Northern brook Znojmo A town near the Austrian border, 55 km SW of Brno Sixteenth-century cut Original brook (section through village culverted in 1929-30) Brno is 20 km NW of Tšany, Prague 200 km NW of Brno, Vienna 110 km S of Brno, Bratislava 115km SSE of Brno - 4 - - 1 - Roads and tracks from T šany Towns, villages, and estates around T šany Towns and villages in ordinary type Towns and villages in ordinary type Buildings and estates in italics Estates in italics Nesva3ilka Brno K8enovice Žat3any Šinkvický Dvr Sokolnice Brno Šaratský Dvr Újezd Telnice Rajhrad Mnín Žat3any vineyards Otnice Moutnice Rajhrad Šaratský Telnice Dvr Brno (1839-40 road) Nesva3ilka Šinkvický Blu3ina Jalovisko Dvr Borkovany Vojkovice TKŠANY Hastrmánek (old road) Moutnice Bošovice Židlochovice TKŠANY original road Borkovany Žab3ice Borkovany to the south Klobouky Nový Hodonín Dvr Šitbo8ice (1839-40 road) Poho8elice Martinice Poho8elice Velké Nikol3ice Klobouky Šitbo8ice Nm3ice Hodonín Nikol3ice Hustope3e Vienna Hustope3e Hustope3e Hustope3e Roads now metalled 1839-40 road from Brno to Hodonín (now E51) Tracks still unmetalled Other roads now metalled Road no longer in use Tracks still unmetalled The vineyards are on the hills to the north-east of the village Neighbouring villages are typically three kilometres apart - 2 - - 3 - Translator’s introduction I, Aloisie Rychlíková, born on 31 December 1896, am writing this book so that our next generation can see how we lived, and what good or bad happened in our village. Thus starts a graphic and quite remarkable account of what it was like to live in the south Moravian countryside in the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. It outlines the known history of the writer’s family and village down to 1942, based on archival material, family tradition, local record books, her grandmother’s memories, and her own personal experience, and then gives a first-hand account of what happened subsequently: the latter part of the Second World War, the passage of the front line through the village in 1945, the post-war reconstruction during 1946-47, the disastrous harvest of 1947, the Communist take-over in 1948, the collectivization of agriculture, the brief political thaw of 1968, and the subsequent Soviet-led invasion and repression. All this is written in a simple and direct style, with family, village, and national events juxtaposed as they occurred, and with occasional anecdotes describing things which the writer thought worthy of particular note. The volume which is translated here takes the story down to 1974, and I am told that there are three further volumes, written by herself for a few more years and then by others, which carry it forward to the present day. The writer produced this diary for her descendants, and as soon as I saw it I wanted to put it into English for the benefit of what has become the collateral English branch of the family. However, while I will certainly accept the responsibility for what follows and mine has always been the last word, it would be quite wrong for me to claim all the credit. My wife Sue and my daughter Megi have both suggested readings which I have been very happy to adopt, and several people have clarified the background and interpreted some of the regional terms for me: Megi’s husband Luboš, who is the writer’s great-nephew, Luboš’s father Josef, her nephew, and my former teacher Anna and her husband Ji5í, who come from much the same part of Moravia and from broadly similar backgrounds.