CONDITIONS IN TREMESEK: ESTABLISHMENT OF FARM COOPERATIVE/EXPLOITATION OF PRIVATE FARMERS/LOCAL OFFICIALS/REACTION TO DEATH OF STALIN AND GOTTWALD/ NEARBY PLANT CONSTRUCTION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00423R000700490003-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 1998
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: January 1, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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Sec Information
Country: Czechoslovakia
Subject: Conditions in Tremesek: Establishment of Farm Cooperative/
Exploitation of Private Farmers/Local Officials/Reaction to
Deaths of Stalin and Gottwald/Nearby Plant Construction
Place Acquired:
Date Acquired:
Date of Info: Nov 52 - Mar 53
Source:
25X1X
25X1A6a
]. "Tremesek is a very small village -- about 300 inhabitants
the Sumperk district of Czechoslovakia.
Establishment of Local Cooperative
2. "Preparations for setting up a farmers' cooperative in Tremese
did not start until November 1952. The chief founders of the
local JZD were:
c
25X1A9a
Jan Kudac - who was the greatest advocate of collective farming.
He later became the first chairman of the Tremesek
JZD. He owned 25 hectara of land but had to hire
farm workers because all his children had jobs in
towns. The elder daughter, aged 23, works as a
clerk at the STB headquarters in Olomouc. The
younger daughter, Margita, was planning to attend
an STB course. His son, Frantisek, is a prison
guard at Jachymov.
Eduard Rihacek He came to the village from a Brno district and knew
virtually nothing about farming. His wife worked in
:vr sCtIS a factory in Ostrava.
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Jan Kuchta, who owned no land. His job was to 'control' farms
and forestry workers; he was known as a casomeric.
He is about 30 and single. His brother-in-law, also
one of the JZD founders, had one hectar of land.
Josef Tichy, who owned one hectar=.
Josef Spychal, who owned five hectars.
3. "When the local farmers were summoned to a preparatory meeting on the
establishment of the cooperative, they started to laugh openly when
they saw who were the men in charge. But the main speaker, Eduard
Rihacek, who later became deputy chairman of the JZD, warned them:
'Stop laughing. Such laughter is considered anti-State activity. I
will have you arrested.' Farmers who opposed the cooperative simply
stopped attending such meetings. However, at the beginning of Janu-
ary.1953, the agricultural referent of the District National Committee
of Sumperk came to the village and declared categorically that all
farmers who refused to join the cooperative would find themselves
with jobs in labor camps.
Exploitation of Private Farmers
11. "Although the farmers who defied the threats and did not enter the
cooperative were not arrested, they found it virtually impossible
to carry on with private farming. They were allocated no fodder
at all. The prices which they had to pay for fertilizers were 30%
higher than those paid by the JZD members. The fines which they
had to pay for unfulfilled delivery quotas were also exorbitant.
I had to pay 73,000 or. for unfulfilled deliveries of milk and eggs
during 1952. I was accused of not having surrendered 1,500 liters
of milk. The fine was calculated on the free market prices: 15 or.
per liter of milk and 10 or. per egg. The exploitation of private
farmers goes further. In autumn 1952 I received 90 or. for the
100 kg of potatoes which I delivered to the State. But when I went
to buy potatoes for my spring sowing I had to pay 750 or. for the
same quantity. Similarly, I received 170 or. for 100 kg of oats
and had to pay 1,500 cr for seeds. I received 300 or per 100 kg
of wheat and had to pay 1,800 cr for the seeds. Milk deliveries
were increased for 1953. In 1952 I was supposed to deliver 5,000
liters. This quota was raised to 7,000 liters for 1953.
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5. "Other private farmers in Tremesek who suffered heavy fines for
unfulfilled deliveries were Filip Seda, Frantisek Podesva, Adam
Maruna, Michal Spacek, Ondrej and Jan Falat, Josef Petrzel and
Ludvik and Jan Miho.
6. "One of the worst enemies of farmers in the Sumperk district is Alois
Palka, who lives in Horni Libina. He was appointed by the Ministry
of 'Purchases' ('Ministerstvo Vykupu') to visit the homes of farmers
who failed to surrender their prescribed quotas. Accompanied by two
members of the SIB, he confiscated any crops in sight. About 15 Sept
52 he visited the home of (fnu) Bufler in Vaclavov and confiscated
potatoes and grain. The Bufler family had been repatriated from
Volyn after World War II.
Local Officials
"The registered members of the Communist Party in Tremesek include:
Emil Dubrava
Augustin Cihlar
Michal Spacek
Jan Kulac and his daughter Margit
Frantiska Paprskarova and her father Frantisek Paprskar
Jan Folasta
Josef u yp chal
Michal Kroka and his son Jan -- both gypsies
Alois Pindak
Jan Kuchta -- Chairman of the local CP organization
Jan Kovac
Alzbeta Kovacova
Liza Cesnekova
Alois Ospal
Josef Tichy
Jakub Pontok
Eduard Rihacek -- Deputy chairman of the local CP
organization
Jan Dubrava -- In charge of political indoctrination
The District Party Secretary for the Sumperk district is Oldrich
Zaoral.
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$. "The reorganization of the SNB in autumn 1952 left only one SNB
official in Tremesek: praporcik Josef Bulicka.
9. "The commander of the fire brigade in Tremesek is Josef Bartosek,
who is not a Communist.
10. "The chairman of the Youth League is Matej Repan, a Slovak. The
acting secretary is Miss (fnu) Bartoskova. This unit of the League
has only about 15 members.
11. "The director of the local school is Zdenek Steiger, a Catholic non-
Communist who was formerly a theology student.
12. "The Chairman of the local National Committee is Alois Pindak. His
deputy is Eduard Rihacek. The local secretary is Frantisek Tomecek.
The security referent is Josef Sp;-chal.
13. "Most of the ;)ioung men of the village who have been called up for
army service have been enrolled in PTP units as sons of 'kulaks'.
One told me he was stationed with a unit working on the construction
site of a military airfield near Line, which is near Plzen.
Reaction to Deaths of Stalin and Gottwald
14. "Certain restrictions were ordered in the village following Stalin's
death. Sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited and all dances
and film shows were cancelled. The villagers, however, were in a
good mood -- which improved after Gottwald's death. The non-
Communists believed the time had come for the regime to collapse.
The authorities instituted night patrols who spied to see if anyone
was listening to foreign broadcasts. A memorial service for Gottwald
was arranged in the local inn -- U Kaple. The prominent Party
members formed a guard of honor. Prior to this official service
it was announced over the local loudspeaker that the names of those
citizens who did not attend would be posted as 'enemies of the
Republic'. The chairmen of the local Party unit and of the local
National Committee gave speeches, and Miss Helena Vitkova read a
poem.
Nearby Plant Construction
"A large ammunition plant is under construction Liate spring 19537
near Unicov in the Sumperk district. It is a branch of the
Zbrojovka plant in Brno.
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16. "Another large plant is under construction on the Sumperk - Bludov
road. One of the production halls was completed in January 1953.
17. "The glider training center built near Sumperk in 1950 is now
being enlarged."
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