Today's February 9, 2015 were conducting an interview for the Arizona
State University retirees Association video history project we're located
today in the A. S. U. Community Services building, I'm john McIntosh. The
technical support staff today include roger carter who's running our audio
and cameras, dave shots, lee, who is the chairman of the S. U. R. A video
history project and linda Vance coy, who's our producer Director,
Associate Director.
So please introduce yourself and stating your name. And what was your
position at A. S. U. My name is Vladimir Borough Bronski
and my position lost position at A. S. U. Um in the so called collection
development uh division or department I think at the end of the division
before that I was involved in the mobile library preparations and planning
and with the architects that was kind of assigned by my boss. Where were
you born? And I read your bio last night and that's a very interesting
story as I mentioned earlier. Yes, I was born in a free check of Slovakia
and I think 31 during the depression or recession, whatever it was, well
in europe they call it crazy. So I believe economic crisis it hit here as
well as everywhere. My dad was fortunate since he worked at the minister
as an accountant so he didn't lose a job but a lot of people lost jobs.
Many, many like almost it doesn't make any sense. Absolutely. And so I
went through the vegetarians, my basic education still under Adolf Hitler
would say. And I remember a lot from World War Two. So to make a long
story short at the end of the war, was liberated by the Russian army, Red
Army or soviet armies because not now, but we used the parliament and by
the western part of Czechoslovakia was liberated by the U. S. Army under
General Patton George Patton pilsen or presenting tracks The name of the
famous beer. They ended up there and they wanted to go to Prague where was
an uprising against Germans on five May 1945 And they were not allowed
with you. 1st
U. S. Army was ready to go and then Eisenhower, General Eisenhower said,
no, no go George. The Russians don't want that because they didn't want
they wanted to liberate. You know, especially frog
the first three years, almost three years, of course welcome are
relatively democratic. Even though the communists had already key
positions, they were preparing for a takeover. And unfortunately they did
steak over in 1948 February and
In
July 1948, I was arrested for the first time and just do the demonstrator.
But they didn't have to uh, system organized yet. So we were actually
punished. I got three days, but it was like disturbing the peace, you know
, on the street. But then six months later they passed their own law which
was called,
I don't remember exactly, it was against anti state, anti government
activities that was quite serious. So I managed to get back to school I
attended the school, as I mentioned in my ball called Chico Slavic, not
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
Commercial Academy was a business background and it was some something
like here community college. Then the first two years were like high
school still in the second two years community college and you are
prepared to be whatever economists,
accountant, foreign trades and so on. But I got involved again through one
of my friends unfortunately.
Uh no, I wasn't regretting it. But if we were planning with another friend
that we will actually leave Czechoslovakia in the summer because when the
communists took over, we couldn't really stand it. We were very much, you
know, young people opposed to that. But yeah, and we're holding the, you
know, with a firm mhm grip the country and unfortunately, you know, we um
when they started this and I government student group, one guy was
arrested and then it was down the line how it is usually especially among
young people. And so one day they got to me also when I was in a class, I
remember Russian and the secret police banging on the door, I came to the
door and
call me and they took me to the headquarters where I was interrogated and
everything. In fact, I now kind of enjoyed when I travel back, you know,
I've been going through the archives and I found some of the protocol when
I was but that was a more serious business. So all of us were involved in
this. Well a lot of people, well
bye
14, 15 people spend Sometimes in in labor camps. The worst was about 14
years and one of my schoolmates for seven years, they eventually got out
sometimes earlier. But still the what's known as the communist countries,
the labor which was not too far from the concentration camp they were
working and the reigning in my mind's
But I managed to avoid it because I was arrested about two months before
my 18th 18th 18th birthday.
We're talking a lot about A. D. S. Now where I am now anyway. And uh so my
lawyer was this and even though they told us, you know they couldn't do
anything, everything was kind of a more or less decided. But we had a
trial. That's who we had a four I think about three days or four days
trial. And
I was fortunate enough I got 10 months I think and I was supposed to do
over the camp. But but then my lawyer appealed it on the basis that I was
juvenile still and they reduced it to have based on fine remember and I
didn't go to prison I would have gone to if I did something wrong but I
didn't and I ended up working because it is my pita in a mine in a double
mind, mine there's a minor and I spent about 3.5 years there million
arrests surveys again First I was surprised because I had this mark on my
background, you know what they call the caterer profile and they
interrogated me and then they left me at the, I was in a combat unit in
near the german border actually. So you were drafted and I was drafted and
first me and one former german soldier, it was also drafted because he was
a yugoslav citizen. But he was in that suit. Denton that determines took
over first. So he had to serve in the wear marks. But he was about two
years older or three years older than me. And so we had to probably more
because he had to serve in World War II or three. And so we were two guys
in that in that company didn't have any weapons. You know, we didn't have
any white folks, nothing and the other guys were complaining and saying,
hey, you know it's, but I guess we were on some kind of a, they were
testing us and I don't know whatever. And when we were trained to shoot,
they have to give up there, you know, rifle also whenever we're shooting
at that rifles at the beginning and then somehow about a month later and
they said, oh yeah go and pick up your gun. So I pick up my submachine gun
at that time and I was assigned as a shooter from the heavy machine gun.
So it was basically my training and then about a year later I was in the
different maneuvers and and right here in the I guess the U. S. Marines
They trained for about three months or maybe more six months the basic
training or the army right. But they are repeating it and I said I'm not
gonna go through this, make them out of business next year again. So
through some friends I managed to find a topic but actually have surgery
on my shoulder and I find I found a job in the office. Mhm. Suddenly apart
six months before seven months before the end of my military service
suddenly they woke up or something and they transferred me to what they
call the black um hmm regiments to so called technical regiments and they
were working again in the uranium mines and also architecture building new
barracks and things like that and holding for the officers and also oh
working in the in the forest. And I was assigned to this forest group.
But I was already at that time working and no my military service was you
know I don't know if you are familiar with them. Check cord yes at that
time when it's called Carlsbad everyone is called mary and bob. I was in
Marion barber but then later I transferred to Carlos bod and was working
in the office of these military establishments. Mhm And they said no you
don't have to go. You know they didn't want me actually even you know to
work in the forest. I have never worked in the forest in my life before.
And so he said you can stay where you are. So I stayed and worked in the
office and eventually we were you know with the end at the end of the
military service. Yeah I didn't want to go back to that mine so a friend
of mine again who whose brother I saved that he could complete his,
I was very grateful over the Oliver I didn't do it for and I think the
service military service that after
anyway and
He helped me to find a job in a research institute that was 1955.
And that was the beginning after Stalin died the kind of a liberalization
a little bit which ended up in Hungary which unfortunately as you know was
suppressed by the Soviets. But at that time I already had a job at this
institute. So I immediately went to they had an institute
who you call college that didn't wasn't under the Ministry of for
Education so I could do that because I was not allowed to go to school
today
Trial in 1949. And so I started immediately
that was a technical college type, there was a research institute for
mental origin was called. And in the meantime There was an amnesty in 1955
, 10 years after the war. So most of us who were punished in 1949 applied
to finish our schools so that was granted that I'm not saying. And I
finished commercial academy and immediately applied for entrance at the
Technical University. Well one year after that Also I think 58 1958. And
then came another kind of clam down in the communist countries in
Czechoslovakia especially. And I was not allowed to go through to this
college. So I worked at the research institute that was eventually. Mhm.
Okay good. Appointed as a manager of his treatment laboratory heat
treatment of metals that is mostly iron metal still.
And then I
58 59. Yes I tried again to not the technical college but Charles
University and past the and forensic exam I was admitted I must admit you
know I was very lucky. I studied Charles University during those years
that were kind of a Getting more and more liberal. So they established a
program in 1959
And I got into it in 1960 which was found. Um No it's mine. I have a copy
of my diploma because sometimes people say you have a PhD I said no I have
a PhD are and what is that? I said well it's a philosophy degree but it's
not a PhD research being is like something we award here E. D. The
education doctorate.
Well I can leave it here with. Okay well we'll pick it up on the camera.
So it's it's it's in latin. Of course it's in Prague yeah and it's a
philadelphia doctor is the infamous whatever you know. I don't know do you
speak alright then a little bit information science and librarian ship and
it translates into english or check whatever I'll live in here. And
some aspects of my background, my studying channels or terrific
because of these professors. Not only veritas of others in my technical I
was studying technical like range you would call it in a simple language
in those days. Right? And but they had a good for instance catalog and and
active physicians. What do you call in library school. But they didn't
really teach much what we put lot of emphasis on here. Reference works
from then on because we, most people I don't remember that much back. But
In 1968 it was so called Prague Spring in Lanka where the Russians
eventually invaded and crushed it. But we left before the sprague Prague
Spring it started getting a little free or before we couldn't get
passports to travel to the west. I had a passport for the East. Hungary so
on. But of those business trips. And so we applied in 19 66
before that we were rejected. And several times actually we tried and
1967 We got the passports and we got an invitation for Dutch friends who
visited us before so we decided to that was our way out. Legal or illegal.
Now you've changed from I to we there's a girl in here someplace. Well
yes, I got married. I So far skip my important part of my life. My wife we
married 1960
one. Yes. And she got almost fired because of me because she worked for a
so called Foreign trade corporation. And they were very strict on my mike
cater profile was not very good even though I was already in college.
So she said I think they will fire me. But then she became pregnant with
our daughter who was born in Prague. And
then it was kinda softer and softer. And we left, as I mentioned in 1967.
That means me and my wife and our daughter who was about four then and
went to Holland and they were taking very good care of us because we
helped their friends in Prague and they said, okay, well again visit you
in Prague. But our intention wasn't going bad once we was, you know, once
we were don't overdo it. Totalitarian world. Even though it was much
softer than we we had friends over here in phoenix Arizona that actually
leads to how I got here. Yeah. So anyway, we asked we instead of ratings
probably went to Germany applied for asylum when we refugee camp. I and
after about a month we were interviewed or interrogated in my case I think
well, you know with the military services both by american U. S. Army and
then uh in german also. And they found out that they probably knew more
Also that I am Green wasn't I remember on the Communist Party that I had
every colorful background and he said yes, you can apply for the
citizenship.