‘Journey for Freedom’

I received an interesting book for Christmas. It is called “Journey for Freedom,” by Peter Vodenka. It is the story of a young man, his upbringing in Czechoslovakia, and eventually his flight to freedom from communism with his wife, 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. This book is particularly interesting to me because my ancestors originated from Czechoslovakia. I live in the largest Czech community in Wisconsin, but I know there are many other Czech communities in the Midwest.

Twenty years ago, a local Czech family asked if they could bring four of their distant relatives to visit our dairy. The relatives were from the Czech Republic, which was created after Czechoslovakia split into two countries following the fall of communism in 1989. One fellow was a college instructor, teaching mechanics. Another fellow was a worker on a collective farm. They shared pictures of their home farms before the communists took over the government. Then they showed the farms 40 years later. Trees were growing through the stables into the haymows. The mechanic talked about fixing old equipment constantly because they never had any new equipment. In 1980, he was still trying to keep 40-year-old tractors running without replacing parts because they had none.

In 2014, I visited Prague and the Czech Republic for 10 days. Our tour guide was a priest from Prague who had immigrated to Canada. As we were walking down a very drab street he stopped and showed us his former apartment. At that time, Prague was beginning to change, churches were open, and tourists were enjoying the city. The Wenceslas Square was filled with musicians, hogs were being roasted and beer was tapped every night. Prague is truly one of the friendliest cities I have ever visited.

After the American and Russian soldiers drove the Germans from the Czech Republic at the end of World War II, communists formed socialist groups that eventually removed all the popular democratic leaders, and the people were subjected to the communist theory of government. The communists confiscated all the land, apartment buildings, factories, farms, farm animals and businesses from private owners. Collective farms were created and so poorly operated that starvation was common. Vodenka talks about how city people were asked to help harvest crops that were rotting in the fields and they helped because of the fear of jail if they disappointed the communist party members. The government controlled everything from large steel factories to the local grocery store. Everything was rationed, including food and toilet paper, which was limited to one roll per person if it was available at all.

The communist propaganda machine blamed most failures on the U.S. At the time, the largest crop in Czechoslovakia was potatoes. They were having a crop failure because of a severe infestation of potato beetles. This striped beetle was referred to as the American beetle and the people were told large American planes were dropping them in the fields. Much of the population believed those stories.

Vodenka had a fascination with America’s Wild West and the freedom from tyranny. When the Czech government tried to become more independent of Russia in 1968, it was taken over by Russian soldiers. Peter was 15 and had just been at a Boy Scout camp. This started his dream of emigrating to America. He was thinking, “If the communists were our saviors, then why did they crush our freedom?”

While Vodenka dreamed, he worked. He went to a plumbing trade school at the age of 15 and worked as a plumber but eventually grew bored and wanted to be outside, so he became a lumberjack. After he married a young woman named Lida, he began working for a collective farm. His job was to feed the animals, milk the cows, clean the barns and take care of the little animals. The cows were bred artificially when Peter thought they were in heat. He was paid according to the amount of milk he collected and the weight the fat animals gained each month. He actually was making more money than most workers in the cities. He was not responsible for the amount of feed he could give his animals — that was controlled by a manager.

Finally, in 1983, Vodenka and his family pursued their dream. After a treacherous trip through Hungary, Yugoslavia and into Austria, the family of four was sponsored by a Lutheran church in Beach, North Dakota, and emigrated to America. They left Austria on board a 747, which their government had told them was an experimental plane. They were flying in a plane that was half-expected to crash, to a country where they couldn’t speak the language, with only a small suitcase of belongings. Eventually they were guided to Bismarck, North Dakota, and a woman with a sign written in Czech met them and gave them a ride to Beach. Only two elderly ladies in Beach spoke Czech, but the outpouring of hospitality helped the transition.

Peter began working for a large hog farmer. He was given a car that got six miles to the gallon, so his drive to the farm consumed half of his check. He decided to enter a 9-month plumbing school and, even though he spoke little English, he became a top student. Peter eventually went to work for a fire suppression business in the Twin Cities. After 20 years, he started his own fire suppression business.

Peter’s mother-in-law, Vlasta, was angry with Peter for taking her daughter and grandchildren away from Czechoslovakia. Eventually, she was given a permit by the communists to visit her daughter in the Twin Cities. Vlasta was an ardent believer in the communist government. One of the first places Peter and Lida took her was to a grocery store. When Vlasta approached the fresh fruits and vegetable section, her face became very pale, and she never spoke a word. Despite it being the middle of winter, the section was full of fruits and vegetables, many of which she had never seen before.

Firsthand accounts like “Journey for Freedom” help us think more critically. Books like these should be required reading in civics classes in our schools.