Miloš Táborský was a teenager living in Czechoslovakia at the time of the German invasion in 1939. He had an uncle, Vlastimil, whom he liked and admired.
During the war, Vlastimil left the country and was not heard from for several years. Unexpectedly, he returned in 1944 with a German wife, Angela, and two little daughters. He had joined the French Foreign Legion and was filled with exciting war stories of fighting against the Germans in France.
Vlastimil and Angela lived with his nephew’s family in Prague till the end of the war in 1945. They then moved to northern Bohemia, but soon after the Communist takeover, in 1948, Vlastimil again left the country. He returned one last time to bring out his family. After that, he and his family were never heard of again.
Miloš married and had two sons. The sons later also married and had their own families. Almost fifty years had passed since Miloš last saw his uncle and he often wondered what ever happened to Vlastimil.
One day in 1998, Miloš, now 77, unexpectedly received a letter that he will never forget – asking him if he had any relatives in Australia!
At first, he thought and asked himself whether the letter had been addressed to the wrong person? He certainly was unaware of any relatives in Australia.
Then he reflected, could this be a clue to his lost uncle? His excitement grew to where he could not sleep. He called the sender of the letter and it quickly became apparent that he was on the trail of the missing branch of his family. The lost family’s history came together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
In 1950, uncle Vlastimil and Angela, with their three small daughters, travelled on a ship to Australia as immigrants. On board they met a young Swiss-Ukrainian couple with a baby boy, Alex. Both families settled in the state of Victoria, 100-200 km from Melbourne. A friendship developed which had lasted for over 50 years.
Alex grew up, married a Czech girl living at the time in Melbourne, and after the 1989 “Velvet Revolution”, in 1993, he and his wife, Eva, decided to move to the Czech Republic where they taught English for eight years.
During a visit to his aged parents in Australia in 1998, Alex visited Angela. (Vlastimil had died 20 years before.) She gave him an old address of Vlastimil’s family in Prague and asked him if he could try to contact her husband’s relatives. So, it was Alex who wrote the mysterious letter that Miloš received!
Needless to say, both families were thrilled about the discovery of their long-lost relatives. Since establishing contact, all three of Angela’s daughters travelled together from Australia to the Czech Republic to visit their cousin for the first time. One of the highlights of the reunion was an invitation for Miloš and his wife, Marie, to visit Australia, with all expenses paid by the cousins!
A few months later, in January 1999, Miloš and Marie arrived in Australia. They visited Miloš’s aunt, Angela, then over 80 years old and a great-grandmother. Since Angela has had five children, all married with their own families, Miloš had to become acquainted with more Australian relatives than he had ever dreamt of!
Having been keenly interested in tennis, another highlight of Miloš’s visit was being able to visit the Australian Open, a major tennis tournament held annually in Melbourne during the last two weeks of January.
In 2001, Alex and Eva felt the need to return to Australia and they visited Miloš and Marie in their home on the outskirts of Prague one last time. They saw the photos of their visit to Australia and were able to rejoice with them in what had transpired in a remarkably short time toward the end of their lives.
Over the years, Alex and Eva exchanged a few annual greetings by email with one of Miloš and Marie’s sons, but gradually, the contact faded and the email address was lost.
In looking back on this true story, it indeed is a small world – made so by sometimes an incredible series of seeming coincidences!
Written by Eva Peck; edited by Alexander Peck (2013).
Visitors to market day, their trading finished, on the morrow have dispersed; … your friends will part from you, be certain.
When a lot of people gather for a party, it is usually a joyous event. They laugh, dance, talk, and enjoy food in the company of numerous friends.
But all gatherings, for whatever purpose, eventually come to an end, and everyone present will be dispersed. Once the evening comes, a marketplace that has been swarming with activity all day will be deserted.
The members of a united family, happy though they may feel when they are all together, will have to cross the threshold of death one after the other, all alone.
(Dilgo Khyentse & Padampa Sangye. The Hundred Verses of Advice: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on What Matters Most. 2002.)
