I could write a whole book about the 2 years with Honza Kotva in the communist army, but I will try to limit it to only the most memorable instances. Once a year the army had a regional and national competition in arts between different army units. Kotva was very active in putting together performances and rehearsals in theatrical areas. He was able, once in a while on Sunday afternoon, to reserve a hall in the old Tabor’s theater, put together small performances, and also open it up to public dancing. 

We had a small rock and roll army orchestra. My involvement was in setting up the acoustical equipment. One time Honza made me learn a poem to recite in public. I froze before I could say anything and after a few terrible minutes ran from the stage. Honza was also able to use the cellar of an old pub in Tabor called U Lichvicu for performances and we had there a big 1964 New Year’s party.

Kotva was often in trouble with his immediate superiors and was several times sentenced to time in the army jail. When the 2 years ended, everyone who spent time in the army jail, had to stay in the army to make up for the jail time. Honza had to stay over one month longer in the army for that reason.

One time in the second year in the army, Honza got into some trouble and was told by an officer that after the army he will not be able to go back to the theater academy to become an actor. Honza tried to commit suicide, jumping from a second story window, but some tree branch twisted him, he landed on his feet and broke his ankles. The same officer accused Honza that he did not really want to commit suicide, and that he did it to be let go from the army. Honza was sent to some psychiatric army hospital for 3 month observation and was absolved from the accusation.

Link to Caricature of soldiers serving in the same company at the end of 2 years army draft

After the army, we stayed good friends and we were meeting frequently for drinks, parties and reminiscing about life in the army. I was going through a lot of changes in my life, the death of my father, and making preparations to leave Czechoslovakia. I applied for a group bus tour for one night in Austria and the rest of the time in Yugoslavia and Hungary. Cedok, the government run tourist agency, let me know that the secret service rejected my application. Next day after the rejection, I met with Honza in a restaurant, Na Stare Fare, near where he lived in Prague. After we were served beer, Honza started to visibly shake and he was telling me that the secret police came to him and interrogated him about me. He said that they wanted to know about my feelings on the communist regime, if I became bitter after my father death, they suspect I plan to escape, and stay in Austria during my trip. Honza told me that he did not say anything negative about me, but he is very sure that the secret police knows everything about me and about my intentions.

Since I was already told by the travel agency that the secret service denied my application, I was ready with a story I knew was believable. After the army, I was attending night school in Charles University in the Electrical Engineering department. I told Honza, that it would be very difficult to make a living in the west, in a capitalist country, without a college degree. Since college education was free in Czechoslovakia and I was not fluent in foreign languages, I decided to finish the degree in Czechoslovakia and only after that I would want to leave Czechoslovakia. I told him that this time, I want to be allowed to go on this trip, since my coming back would establish the secret police trusting me for the next time I would apply for a trip tour, going through Austria. I used this argument with everyone, who was suspecting that my trip was a way for me to escape, including with my mother and my sister. Two days later, Honza told me that the secret police came again to talk to Kotva about me and that he assured them that I was not planning to escape.

I also went to the secret police headquarters with a prepared modified story objecting to the denial for me to go on the trip. There was another “friend”, who I was warned about being a secret policeman, who also told me that he was interrogated by the secret police about my possible intentions going on the trip, whom I also told my prepared story.

This all happened within the same one week. At the end, I was told by the tourist agency that by some miracle, the secret service approved my trip.