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From the Farewell Letter

  • Date: 17 Dec, 2008 at 11:14PM,
  • 2 commentaries
  • My beloved mother, my dear children (his wife, father and brothers were in prison at the time, being tortured by interrogators),

    Dcery

On 1/29/1955 the Supreme Court sentenced me to death.

My dear mother, my dear children, I think about you all the time. I think about Lidunka (his wife), dad and my brothers. I love you all more than my life. Mom, please be strong and brave. Embrace my children now even more. They will give you the best of life because children are life. I am grateful to you for everything. I am proud and happy to have a mother like you, to have such an honorable Dad, and loyal bothers.

I am proud that I had a wife who loved me so much with her soul and with her heart. She was everything to me. She was a beautiful and a remarkable woman and mother. I adore Lidunka, I adore you my mother and adore my father. I believe that one day they will all be able to return to you, to their children, to their families. 

Please forgive me that I have hurt you while alive. I am so sorry. I loved you all much more than is usual in most families. I could not be any different than I was (?reference that he got involved in the anti-communist resistance). Please believe me that all I ever wanted was to offer love, happiness, only the best life can offer. I loved you, I honored you, I respected you. I wanted to be the same man as Dad — a person who is good, just, honorable, honest and noble.

Lidunka and Radousek (age 7 and 4 at that time respectively), my sweet children, love each other and love you grandma. Do not ever forget your beautiful mommy, your dearest grandpa, and uncles Vrata and Zdenek. Adore your mommy just as I adored my mommy and my daddy. Offer your dearest mommy more happiness and calm than I have given my parents and you will always be happy. I always believed in you and I do now. I believe that you will grow up to be such wonderful people like your mommy, grandma, grandpa, uncles Vrata and Zdenek. 

I love you and I am sending you my kisses. I will think about you and wish you only the best all the time until the end. When you grow up, ask your mommy to tell you everything about her life and about my life.

Mom, I send you my love. I send my love to Lidunka, Vrata, and Zdenek. I wish them to be well and return home. I beg God on their behalf. Give my regards to aunt Hladikova, the parents in Kolin, Jarka and Jarca. I greet all. Be with God, my mother, my dear children, dad, my brothers. 

Dcery

Václav Švéda wrote this farewell letter while awaiting his execution. His children did not receive the letter until 40 years later. Their mother was tortured for 19 months and then imprisoned for 10 years.

Translated: Jana Svehlova

English Editing: Gregory Moore