The fate of the Plichta family
Ludmila Vondráčková, née Plichtová, lived in Šebkovice in the Třebíčsko region with her parents and two brothers, Antonín and Stanislav. Her father was a private farmer who was involved in the anti-Nazi resistance movement during World War II. After the war, both brothers of Mrs. Vondráčková joined the anti-Communist resistance group of Ladislav Malý. The notorious event in Babice was preceded by the arrest of the priest Drbola. The group of Ladislav Malý decided to avenge the arrest and punish those responsible. On July 2, 1951, Ladislav Malý and Antonín Mityska stormed into a meeting of local party officials that was held at a local school. Meanwhile, the Plichta brothers were patrolling in front of the school. During the shooting that followed, three party functionaries were killed and one was injured. "The night after the shooting in Babice (3 July, 1951), I was visiting friends who were hiding my father in the village of Cidlina. In the morning, I looked out of the window and saw that a bus stopped in the village. The front and back door opened then a great number of militiamen jumped out. The bus came from Jihlava. They arrived quickly – it only took them one night. They occupied the house and of course quickly found me in one of the rooms. They put me to a tree, one of them was guarding me with a machine gun, and the others searched the house. They only found my dad in the afternoon as he was hidden somewhere in the hay. I was taken from the house of the Stehlík family to a school in Želetava for interrogation, but I didn't know much. I only knew what my brothers told me. I didn't even know that my dad had been involved in resistance activities against the Communists, so I couldn't tell them anything. From Želetava they took me into custody in Jihlava, where I spent two weeks until July 14, 1951. From there I went to work on a state farm in Ploskovice near Litoměřice." One of the brothers of Ludmila Vondráčková, Antonín Plichta, was shot dead during a shootout that took place on 3 July, 1951, in a rye field near Bolíkovice. The second brother, Stanislav Plichta, was seriously wounded and captured by the secret police. In May 1952, he was executed. Ludmila's father, Antonín Plichta Sr., although he wasn't informed about the murders and didn't approve them, was convicted of the offenses of treason, sabotage, and aiding murder. The Regime persecuted all of the Plichta family members. The Babice case is until today surrounded by many unresolved questions.
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Ludmila Vondráčková and the events in Babice
Ludmila Vondráčková, née Plichtová, was born on November 26, 1933 in Šebkovice in the Třebíč district. She studied a school for housewives and then an agricultural school in Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou. Her father was Antonín Plichta, an independent farmer, who had been involved in the anti-Nazi resistance movement during WWII: he had formed a partisan group called Lenka - JIH and he had been hiding paratroopers from the group Spelter. He was politically active in the People's Party during the Third Republic era. After the communist coup in February 1948, father Antonín and his sons, Stanislav and Antonín Jr., joined the anti-communist resistance movement. Unfortunately, in spite of warnings, they trusted an alleged resistance fighter Ladislav Malý and began cooperating with him. The role of Ladislav Malý remains unclear: he claimed to be a CIC agent who was organizing local resistance movement in Czechoslovakia, but at the same time he probably served as an agent provocateur for the Secret State Police. On July 2, 1951 Malý and Antonín Mityska killed three officials of the local Communist party committee in Babice during their meeting in the village school. The Plichta brothers were on guard in front of the school building during the murder. After the shooting they were hiding in a rye field near Bolíkovice, less than 2 kilometers away from Babice, where they were caught on July 3, 1951. Antonín was killed in the gunfight and Stanislav was seriously wounded, captured by the State Security and taken to a hospital in Brno. He became paralyzed as a result of the injury. In February 1952, he was sentenced to death and executed in May 1952. According to the official version released by the Communist Party, Ladislav Malý had been killed in the rye field as well. Ludmila, however, met him in Litoměřice several years later and she recognized him. The murder of Communist Party officials (known as the Babice case) was used by the ruling Communist Party to launch massive repression of the Catholic church (Malý had been helped by some priests) and of independent farmers in the Vysočina (Czech-Moravian Highlands) region. The first trial took place as early as July 12, 1951. Ludmila's father, Antonín Plichta Sr., was sentenced to death, although he did not know about Malý's plans and he did not agree with the murder. The execution was carried out in the regional court prison in Jihlava on August 3, 1951. Antonín Mityska and five other persons were executed as well. Ludmila Plichtová and her mother were ordered to move out of Šebkovice. Together with other women whose husbands were imprisoned, they were taken to a state-run farm in Ploskovice near Litoměřice where they had to work. All their property was confiscated. In Trnovany, where she worked, Ludmila met her future husband and after their wedding in 1955 they settled in Klatovy, where she worked in agriculture and later in a dairy farm. Her mother, Ludmila Plichtová Sr., who was severely shaken by the family tragedy, was living with Ludmila until her death.
