Both totalitarianisms hit us in rapid succession
Stáhnout obrázek
Karel Müller was born on February 11, 1942 in Petříkovice. He comes from a mixed Czech-German family that had to face the repression of both totalitarian regimes during the 20th century. After the war, their Müller estate was expropriated under the Beneš Decrees, followed by further nationalisation of the property after 1948. Karel Müller then grew up in difficult social conditions. He graduated from an eleven-year school in Trutnov. Because of his background and social conditions, he was unable to study at university. He worked as a worker in the national enterprise KARA Trutnov. Only later did he graduate from the University of Chemical Technology (VŠCHT) in Pardubice. He then successfully worked in research at KARA Trutnov. In 1969, as a result of political persecution, he was reassigned back to work as a labourer. He was investigated by the State Security (StB) in Hradec Králové and later the StB listed him in the category of hostile person. The case regarding the collection and dissemination of anti-state anecdotes was later dropped. In 1974 he moved to the hospital in Trutnov, where after retraining he operated a cobalt irradiator and spent more than four decades there. After 1989, he was actively involved in social changes and regained part of the family property. He has been a long-time organist and has overseen the restoration of several historic organs and divine masses in the region. At the time of filming in 2025, he lived in Malé Svatoňovice.
