I lost 16 kilograms during the investigation
Stáhnout obrázek
Josef Abraham was born on 11 March 1927 in the village of Javorník near Vysoké Mýto. His father was originally a bricklayer, his mother a housewife. During the First World War the father was seriously wounded and as a war invalid he received a general store. He later expanded the tobacco sales to include mixed goods, which his son Josef helped him with. He trained as a shop assistant and worked in the Jednota company in Ústí nad Orlicí. In April 1950, Josef Abraham enlisted in the auxiliary air force in Vysoké Mýto. In mid-June of the same year, however, he was arrested on the basis of a denunciation for anti-state speeches and approval of the anti-communist resistance. He was transferred to the infamous military prison in Prague, Hradčany, to the so-called „Domeček“. He underwent harsh interrogation, experienced overcrowded cells, lack of food, insults and threats. Within a month and a half, Abraham lost 16 kilograms and had to be transferred to the Military Hospital in Střešovice. A private military trial was held on July 21, 1950 in Prague. According to Law 231 for the Protection of the Republic, Josef Abraham was sentenced to four years of hard imprisonment, a fine of 10,000 CZK, confiscation of personal property and loss of civil rights for a period of 5 years. He served his sentence in the prison in Opava, where he glued paper bags. There he met the imprisoned generals Karel Janoušek and Karel Kutlvašr and the leading participant of the domestic anti-Nazi resistance, Colonel Karel Štainer-Veselý. In 1951 Abraham was transferred from Opava to Jakubčovice nad Odrou, where he worked in a stone quarry. Eventually, he was transferred to the Jáchymov camp in Slavkov to mine uranium ore. During his imprisonment he fell ill several times and had to be hospitalized. Abraham was released in the spring of 1953 thanks to a presidential amnesty. After returning home, he married and had two children. For the first year of his freedom he worked as a labourer at the Pardubice Earthworks. After that, he held various positions in the business sector until his retirement. By a decision of the Supreme Court in Prague on February 12, 1972, the 1950 sentence of the High Military Court against Josef Abraham was annulled.
