Osudy mé rodiny – Oliva Pavel (2017)

The story compressed into this book could fill a comprehensive novel saga or serve as a multi-part television series. Its author, Pavel Oliva, captures the history of his family and that of his wife Věra, including a large extended family. Relying on his memory and a number of preserved documents, he provides testimony about specific people from the distant ancestors of both families to contemporaries, about their lives, fates, and professions, as well as about the times and their stages and historical twists starting from the mid-nineteenth century. The natural protagonists of this family chronicle are himself and his long-time life partner and support, Věra. Both are top experts in social science disciplines – Pavel Oliva in the field of ancient history, Věra Olivová in modern Czechoslovak history focusing on the First Republic and the role of Eduard Beneš, and also in the field of sports history. The greatest attention in the author's narrative is drawn to the period of German occupation, which he personally experienced in concentration camps due to his origins, during which he lost his entire family and most relatives. Another focal point for him is the period of so-called normalization after 1970, which significantly affected both protagonists, and later the tumultuous era after 1989, in which one as...