Bohumil Robeš

Bohumil Robeš was born in 1930 in Holubice. Since his youth, he's been immensely interested in literature and theater and early on, he became a member of a number of amateur ensembles of various community theaters. Due to a poor cadre profile assessment, he wasn't admitted to the Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) in Prague. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested for his connections to the resistance group SODAN (The Boy-Scout Organization for Democracy and Independence) and sentenced to five years in prison. He went through various prison camps located at uranium mines in Jáchymov or "Vojna" in Příbram, where he took part in the so-called "noodle rebellion". As a political prisoner in Leopoldov, he refused to work, although it was mandatory for all prisoners. For his refusal, he was punished by frequent and protracted stays in the so-called "correction". Even while in prison, he continued to openly speak out against oppression, humiliation and injustice. As a result, his prison term was extended twice in Leopoldov. As Mr. Robeš was not to be broken by the reprisals, he was sent to a psychiatric clinic. He was finally released from prison in 1967, after having spent thirteen and a half years in prison. During the short period of the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when he worked as a warehouseman, he was able to devote himself to journalism and published numerous articles in magazines, interviews for the Brno Broadcast, and he even became the member of a theater advisory board. However, the advent of the so-called "Normalization" brought an end to his engagement in the cultural sphere. After 1989, he became a member of the municipal council of Holubice, wrote three books and took an active part in public life, not only in his native village.