JAROSLAV VNOUCEK:

Jaroslav ("Jerry") Vnoucek was born October 22, 1921 to Josef Vnoucek and Anna Peineltova in Reischdorf, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). He moved to Kraslice, Czechoslovakia in 1946 and met Edeltraud ("Trudy") Riedl in 1947. Edeltraud was born January 7, 1924 in Silberbach, Czechoslovakia (former German Sudentenland) to Franz Riedl and Anna Rodig.

Due to political tension after World War II, Jaroslav and Edeltraud decided it was necessary to leave Czechoslovakia, in particular because Germans were being expelled, marriage was discouraged between Czechs and Germans, and Jaroslav had been approached by authorities for forced labor. In 1948, they fled Czechoslovakia via East Germany and then West Germany staying at various places including a Riedl family farm in Kraiburg, Germany.

Jaroslav and Edeltraud were married on August 24, 1948 in Bayern, Germany and again in a civil ceremony on November 11, 1948. From the end of 1948 through 1950, they lived in Ludwigsburg, Germany as residents of an International Refugee Organization assembly center. They had their first son, Jaroslav ("Jerry") Ludwig, in 1950. Following the birth of their son, Jaroslav applied for American immigration and the family moved to Pforzheim for a few months and back to Ludwigsburg for formalities before leaving for the United States.

They departed from Bremerhaven, Germany on the ship, SS General W.C. Langfitt, and arrived in the United States on October 20, 1950. With the assistance of Charles Edward Proshek, a Czechoslovakian doctor, who was already residing in Minnesota, they started to settle in Minneapolis where they lived with sponsors, then an apartment, and in 1954 they moved to a house in Crystal, Minnesota. Their second son, Steve, was born in 1954.

They remained in Crystal for the rest of their lives. Jaroslav worked as a tailor for the Dayton Company for 34 years. They kept in touch with family that remained in Czechoslovakia through correspondence. Jaroslav passed away in 2009 and Edeltraud in 2013.

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Jaroslav and Edeltraud Vnoucek papers document their life in Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Minnesota. The papers cover their time in displacement camps, their emigration and naturalization, Jaroslav's work as a tailor, communication with family back in Europe, and the family's every day life.

Correspondence between the Vnoucek family in Minnesota and relatives who remained in Czechoslovakia is written in Czech with select English translations. The letters were often written using a fictitious name to avoid communist persecution. The bulk of material received from Czechoslovakia is from the Prague Spring, a brief period of political liberalization from January through August of 1968. Most letters sent by Jaroslav that are included in the collection date from the 1990s.

Vnoucek and Riedl family papers include Josef Vnoucek's, father of Jaroslav, autobiography written in Czech with English translations of selected excerpts; genealogy charts; time line written by Susie McManus Vnoucek about Jaroslav and Edeltraud Vnoucek's escape from Czechoslovakia, and identified copy print photographs of the Vnoucek and Riedl family members and Czechoslovakia.

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Collection is arranged in three series:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Vnoucek, Jaroslav. Jaroslav and Edeltraud Vnoucek and Family Papers, 1932-2018. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Location of master Files:

Digital masters of the video file are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 17,646

Processing Information:

Processed by: Karen Obermeyer-Kolb, March 2019

Catalog ID number: 9989752338904294

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Displaced persons materials, 1948-1950.

In Czech, German, and English.

Documentation of Jaroslav and Edeltraud's time as residents of International Refugee Organization assembly centers, including camp identification, health certifications, and alien registration preparation. Additionally, includes their civil and church marriage certificates, their birth certificates, and copies of their parents' marriage certificates which were required for Jaroslav and Edeltraud to marry each other.

Digital version

Location

Box

143.K.20.5B-1

2

Photograph albums, 1947-1956.

1947-1950 - Digital version

1950-1952 - Digital version

1952-1956 - Digital version

Location

Box

147.G.6.9B

1

Naturalization materials, 1950-1955.

Correspondence and documents.

Includes correspondence with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, alien registration materials, declarations of intent, and certificates of naturalization.

Digital version

Pamphlets.

Digital version

Course materials.

Includes enrollment information for courses on civics and English as well as Jaroslav's study materials and quizzes.

Digital version

Government identification and permits issued to Jaroslav Vnoucek, 1951-1983.

Includes passports, voter registration cards, international driving permits, and fishing licenses.

Digital version

Government identification and permits issued to Edeltraud Vnoucek, 1956-1983.

Includes passports, voter registration cards, and international driving permits.

Digital version

First car purchase and repair papers, 1953-1955.

Digital version

Location

Internet

Jaroslav & Edeltraud Vnoucek's journey to America, March 14, 1993. 1 video file: MP4 (1 hour 45 minutes) (225MB).

Digital video

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Materials are often addressed to or from J.V. Irvine, a fictitious name that Jaroslav used to protect family from Communist persecution.

Includes selected English translations.

Location

Box

147.G.6.9B

1

Correspondence received by Jaroslav and Edeltraud Vnoucek, 1958, 1966, 1968 (bulk 1968).

In Czech.

Digital version

Correspondence sent to Czechoslovakia from Jaroslav Vnoucek, 1990-1996, 2005-2006.

In Czech.

Digital version

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Photographs, printed 2018. 18 photographs: black and white; 4 x 6 inches and 5 x 6.5 inches and 28 images on 22 sheets: black and white and color; 8.5 x 11 sheet.

Copy prints duplicate images on ink jet print copies. Ink jet print copies include written identification.

Digital version

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Czechs -- Minnesota.

Germans -- Minnesota.

Immigrants -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Riedel family.

Vnoucek family.

Vnoucek, Edeltraud.

Vnoucek, Josef.

Places:

Czech Republic -- Emigration and immigration.

Germany -- Emigration and immigration.

Minnesota -- Emigration and immigration.

Document Types:

Books.

Correspondence.

Diaries.

Photograph albums.

Photographs.

Video recordings.

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