Like nation, like government, and the nation can expect no more
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Stanislav Holáň was born on 20 November 1923 in Nedakonice near Uherské Hradiště. From 1945 to 1948 he led a Catholic Scout troop in his village. For several weeks in 1950 he sheltered the Catholic priest Felix Maria Davídek, who was a fugitive from the Communist regime. He was arrested by State Security and sentenced to 14 years of prison in Brno on 21 March 1952. He was released after nine years. He served in several penal labour camps connected to the uranium mines, but his worst memories are of the prison in Uherské Hradiště. Incarcerated in a damp concrete tomb with no chair, bed, or blanket of any kind, only his faith in God allowed him to survive several weeks of solitude without losing his sanity. After his release he worked as a bricklayer at the District Construction Company until his retirement. He married the teacher Marie Vítková, who was fired from her job shortly after their marriage and was then forced to work as a cleaning lady. Their two sons also suffered from their “dispreferred” class profile and had difficulties enrolling at schools. As of 2018, Stanislav Holáň still lives in Nedakonice.
