Luboš Hruška
Luboš Hruška (born July 20, 1927 in Plzeň ; † June 30, 2007 ) was a Czech soldier and a political prisoner of the communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia . He was the founder of the meditation garden - the monument to the victims of evil - in Pilsen in the Czech Republic.
Life
jail
In 1946, Hruška finished secondary school and began his training at the Military Academy in Hranice na Moravě . As a young officer he came to a unit near the state border. When he tried to cross the border in 1949, he was arrested and sentenced to 18 years in heavy imprisonment and the forfeiture of all his property. He was also deprived of his civil rights. He was tortured in the Špilberk , Pankrác , Bory (in Pilsen), Opava , Leopoldov , Ruzyně (in Prague) prisons , in the uranium mine labor camp in Jáchymov and in Bytíz near Příbram . During the years in prison he met several imprisoned Christians, priests and also bishops, through whom he then came to the Catholic faith. The then Jesuit Provincial František Šilhan prepared him secretly for baptism and also baptized him. The meeting with Father Andreas (Ondřej - his family name in civil life was K. Frgal) shortly after his sentencing was decisive for Luboš Hruška's faith. This Capuchin greeted him in the common cell in such a way that Hruška considered it to be a key event in his life until his death.
During his more than ten years imprisonment, Luboš Hruška made the vow that he wanted to create a park from the orchard he had inherited from his parents, which would be dedicated to the Holy Cross. This park should also serve the recovery of the human soul. He fulfilled this vow completely.
family
On the path of faith, Luboš Hruška was accompanied by the Franciscan Father Michal Pometlo. He found great support from his family, especially from his wife Lída, who accompanied him throughout their life together and who always supported him. Luboš Hruška spent the last almost two years of his life tied to the bed, cared for by his wife.
plant
Meditation garden
Immediately after returning from prison (1960), Hruška started working in his orchard in Doudlevce and gradually turned it into a meditation area. The fruit trees were felled and the area adapted to the project. He had to earn his living as a simple worker, but he could often go to Průhonice to take part in lectures on garden architecture. His concern was in the spiritual area, he wanted to convert his garden into a memorial for those who opposed the totalitarian regime (fascism and communism) and whose suffering should be a permanent memory. The Way of the Cross of Jesus Christ became the central theme.
Way of the Cross
Luboš Hruška was only able to realize the Way of the Cross between 1987 and 1989 under the constant supervision of the secret state police. For this he had inspired the academic sculptor Roman Podrázský from Přibyslav, who promised to create 12 sandstone sculptures free of charge for 14 stations of the cross. Legally, however, a way of the cross could not be created under the communist government, so the 12 sandstone blocks were illegally brought from Hořice near the Giant Mountains to the workshop of Roman Podrázský in Přibyslav and the finished statues then had to be transported on to Pilsen. Mr. Hruška paid all costs from his wages as a worker. The statues were placed in the meditation garden in 1987–1991.
chapel
After November 1989 the area was completed by Luboš Hruška and the foundation he established with a chapel according to plans by architects J. Soukup and J. Opl. The chapel was consecrated to St. Maximilian Kolbe . This Polish priest, who was later canonized, sacrificed his life for a prisoner, father of three children, and voluntarily died in the Nazi concentration camp Oświęcim .
Memorial to the victims of evil
In 1995, Luboš Hruška handed over the completed area of the meditation garden to the Pilsen diocese , which became its new owner. So today the chapel and the entire area with the official name of the monument is available to all of the victims of evil .
legacy
Awards
Luboš Hruška has received several awards for his life's work. He is the holder of the Historical Seal of the City of Pilsen (1992), the Prize of the City of Pilsen (1994) and the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , awarded by the President of the Czech Republic in 1997. He received from Pope John Paul II in In 2002 the Knightly Order of Pope New Year's Eve . He also received the Medal of the Military Association of Rehabilitated People (2003), he is also the holder of the Prize of the Captain of the Pilsen Region for Civil Courage (2003) and he was made an honorary citizen of the City of Pilsen (2006). Since 1999 the planetoid 18841 has been called "Hruška" and was discovered by the astronomers Ing. Jana and Miloš Tichý at the Kleť observatory. On July 9, 2007, the day he was carried to the grave, he was awarded the Minister of Defense's Gold Cross of Merit in memoriam.
Embassy
Luboš Hruška created a work that is not only of great aesthetic value, but also contains a strong spirit and a message.
According to a personal testimony of his son Petr Hruška (Zemřel Luboš Hruška), the message of his life recorded in the meditation garden in Pilsen can be expressed as follows:
- Never forget what man can do to man, Czech to Czech, brother to brother in 'civilized' Europe at the end of the 20th century! The new generations should get to know the horrors of the communist totality, so that such inhumanities can never be repeated.
- Experiencing the crimes of totalitarian regimes and cultivating 'preventive' memories of them should not lead future generations to hatred, galling or passivity, but rather encourage them to be creative. However, your life cannot be redesigned without reconciliation (clear description of the situation or punishment of guilt), because only through reconciliation one can achieve freedom.
- The strength for such an attitude, for the connection of the radical criticism of any totality and the radical readiness for reconciliation can only be drawn from faithful family alliances and the Christian community of faith, hope and love.
swell
- Irena Kastnerová: Luboš Hruška a zahrada jeho duše . Pilsen 2000, ISBN 80-2382-969-6 .
Web links
- Meditation garden in Pilsen - Doudlevce
- Monument to the Victims of Evil - 360 ° virtual tour
- Memorial to the victims of evil - meditation garden
- Memorial to victims of tyranny
- Zemřel Luboš Hruška
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Hruška, Luboš |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech soldier and political prisoner in Czechoslovakia |
DATE OF BIRTH | July 20, 1927 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Plzeň |
DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 2007 |