"We were ideating Czechoslovakia as a paradise on Earth."
Mrs. Miloslava Žáková, PhD. was born on October 11th 1933 in Czech village called Kupičov, which was located in Ukrainian Volhynia. Her father, grandfather as well as most of their ancestors came from the carpenter's generation. Miloslava Žáková remembers the war, bombing attacks and hidings from them, but also she recalls everyday life in Volhynia from child's point of view. Her father, who served the army in the past, stayed in Czechoslovakia and settled down in farmstead near by Dvůr Králové town. In the spring of 1947 Miloslava accompanied by her mother and her younger brother left with the Volhynia Czechs transport to Czechoslovakia. After she graduated on gymnasium she started to study Czech and Russian languages on the faculty of Philosophy in Olomouc town. After five years of teaching in Moravia she moved to Prague and here she began to work at the Educational Research Institute. She was involved in the 1968 happenings, but unlike her husband, she didn't suffer any consequences regarding this. Being independent, she had some difficulties to defense her candidate's work. She was able to succeed only at the beginning of the 90´s. After her retirement she became one of the main organizers of the Kupičov village Natives reunion. She is publishing the Kupičov newsletter. She also participated in writing and editing of two anthologies about the history of Volhynia Czechs living in Kupičov.
