Božena Šimanská

Božena Šimanská, née Nevtípilová, was born in 1926 in the little village of Kozlovice near Přerov. The village is located on fertile soil in the region of Haná and the father of Božena was the greatest landowner in the village. After the Communist takeover of power and the introduction of efforts to collectivize the peasants, the regime exerted great pressure on the family to join collective farming. They had to deliver excessive amounts of crop and agricultural products and their former fields were swapped for fields that were farther away and yielded less crop. Both brothers of Božena were conscripted to the auxiliary military battalions, (so-called “PTP”), and the older brother, Josef, eventually spent four years in the battalions, which was not in accord with the law of that time. Božena’s father was finally left with no other choice but to join the farming collective. However, three years later, in 1955, he left the farms collective again together with his son Josef, his son-in-law Alois Jemelka and four other farmers. In August 1955, all of them were sentenced to high prison terms in a public process that took place in Přerov. The verdict was meant to serve as a cautionary warning for the other farmers in the village. Both the father and the brother of Božena were sentenced to twelve years in prison and to the forfeiture of their property. At that point, her father was already 67 years old. After he was imprisoned, the family was moved out of their family farmstead. Božena’s father died after four years in the Leopoldov prison. The family tried hard to arrange for a transfer of his remains to Kozlovice, but their effort was in vain. It took a tremendous endeavor of Božena to at least secretly participate in the prison burial. In 1973, the authorities finally granted the transfer of her father’s remains. However, the family discovered that the prison grave yard had been shut down and there was nothing left of the father’s grave except for his identification plate bearing the number 4174 that they found at a nearby rubbish dump. In 1975, the mother of Božena, Anežka Nevtípilová, died and the family put the plate into her grave. Even though Božena Šimanská was allowed to graduate from medicine by the Communist regime, her professional beginnings were very complicated due to her class origin. In the 1990s, together with her brother, they filed a criminal charge against the Communist functionaries and the judicial authorities responsible for the eviction of her family and the sentencing of her father and brother. However, like the majority of similar cases, it was shelved for the expiry of the limitation period. Today, doctor Božena Šimanská still lives in Přerov.

• More info