The police surveillance over the media practically finished before the end of February. It wasn’t, however, abolished by law until the end of June. Journalists thus had opportunities that had so far been unheard of and they sometimes did not really know what to do with them. In any case all the media had very high ratings.
Favourite topics were: revealing the causes of past deformations, political processes of 1950’s, State Security (StB) activities and various historical issues, such as the circumstances of Jan Masaryk’s suicide in 1948. The media was at the centre of people’s attention. It should be said that the media’s openness often complicated the relations between the republic and other socialist countries.
The new circumstances affected new spheres of life. Only in communities and factories things stayed the same. Most people welcomed the changes with enthusiasm. The media even space to contrary opinions, although they were often accepted with little tolerance, as people were learning more and more about the practices of Communists in the past years.
Those who had different opinions did not have to fear anything but making fools of themselves in the eyes of the society. No one was prosecuted by the police or punished in any way for their opinions, as it used to happen. The society did not long for revenge. People only wanted to make sure that those responsible for the past times would not get another opportunity.
There were, however a few cases, in which some people wanted to do justice over the past. The public was informed of several cases of suicide, when some people feared that they would be prosecuted or scandalized for their past actions. These cases were, however, sporadic and their number was insignificant and it did not correspond with the overall situation in the society
Šejna’s Scandal
On 27th February, major general Jan Šejna, a member of the presidium of the National Assembly and the most highly placed party member in the army, fled to the West.
He fled before the members of Parliament had the time to deprive him of his immunity in order to investigate him in relation to corruption. His flight strengthened the tendencies in the society against Novotny, as Šejna was a friend of his family’s. In February, the party’s district conferences took place in the atmosphere that followed Šejna’s flight. On this occasion, officials were judged according to their attitude to „January“. The time came for dismissions and abdications. During these days, a process was started with the aim to change the situation within the party and society.
In summer 1967, Šejna draws his last loan from the savings bank in the amount of 50, 000 CZK. He promises to director Hes and to Řehák, the deputy of the finance minister, that he will pay off his debts by the end of the year. According to Moravec, Šejna at first hopes to get enough money not only for grass seeds but also for the book which he is planning to publish. He also counts on profitable fees for screenplays.
Šejna longs very much for fame and tries to write mainly short stories and screenplays, which could be realized by his friends from the film industry in Barrandov. His first tiny success comes in 1967, when the magazine Plamen publishes his short story Tram (Timber). However many believe that the story was written by someone else. The rumour is that Šejna has no literary dispositions, although he is convinced that he has. Contrary to literary critics, he does not consider his literary attempts as junk. His wife even claims later on that at a certain time, Šejna thought about leaving the army for a career as a writer.
Film is another of Šejna’s passions. With a huge help of professional film makers, Šejna in the end finishes three films with the following titles: Předejít svůj stín, Záložáci and Tvář z davu. Apart from that, by Šejna’s request, a FAMU graduate makes a documentary on Prague wehrmacht general Touissant. According to the screenwriter, all Šejna’s attempts are in vain, because all Barandov‘s film makers do not take Šejna seriously. They only use him without giving him „anything to peck at“.
When different variants of above standard earnings fail, Šejna mainly focuses on machinations with seeds, with the help of his friend Moravec. At first, only Moravec knows how to gain huge sums of money thanks to the shortage of grass seeds. However, Moravec cannot get the required amount of seeds on his own, that is why he lets Šejna into the matter. Soon after, Šejna turns to the Ministry of Agriculture for help.
Through the Minister of Agriculture, Moravec and Šejna meet people from the departmental office of purchase and from the Purification Plant for Seeds in Holešovice, Prague. Moravec then obtains the procuration of the State Army Forests General Headquarters, to be able to act in their name. Thus, under an official name, he wants to conceal his and Šejna’s business. Three cooperatives – JZD Kačice, Ledeč and Ústěk obtain the much needed seeds from the delivery designated for State Army Forests as soon as in spring 1967.
However, the procedure of the mentioned cooperatives causes trouble to Šejna and Moravec. Cooperatives are not interested in the seeds that have been ordered. Šejna handles this situation through a member of Parliament whom he knows and who arranges a meeting between him and an employee of JZD Nova Ves. It works. One more time, Šejna and Moravec are lucky. However, it soon appears that not for long. Moravec finally transports the grass seeds into the cooperative and encashes 160, 000 CZK. This is very unusual, though. In a standard way, i.e. by means of a bank transfer, the amount of 85, 000 CZK is paid, which is not in compliance with the usual procedure. It raises suspicion.
In the end, this suspicious transaction puts the Public Security on the track of the whole fraud. Investigators from Uherske Hradiste find out that exactly in the middle of December the JZD Ostrožská Nova Ves paid 160, 000 CZK to the organization MNO-Army Forests for the purchase of grass seeds, contrary to valid legal regulations. They suspect that a crime has been committed.
Consequently, on 28th December 1967, Uherske Hradiste’s Public Security forwards the information about the machinations with seeds in Ostrožská Nova Ves to the Public Security Administration Office to take further action. Šejna and Moravec, however, earn money from other illegal sales of seeds. These are sales in JZD Mořina, Sedlčany and Domažlice. In total, Šejna gets 337, 000 CZK and Moravec 59, 000 CZK.
The machinations with seeds are not the only problem which Šejna has to face. There are also illegal sales of cars that come into light again. The district department of the Public Security in Prague 6 receives a letter of request from the Public Security in Trebišov which says that Šejna sells foreign cars. The whole thing is probably organized through Tuzex. The letter stresses that the information was gained through an operational procedure and that it has not been verified yet. Slovak colleagues therefore ask for detailed information about Šejna and they wonder whether Šejna has any connections with Tuzex employees.
A copy of the letter from Trebišov is sent by the Public Security to Mamula, the head of the 8th division of UV KSC. Mamula, however, does not take any steps and puts the request into a safe together with other „treasures“, which can one day come in handy. It is said that most of these incriminating materials are about the son of the president Novotny. Later on Mamula denies this information.
It is likely that he hides Sejna’s frauds for some other reason. In the past, Mamula and Šejna hated each other. Now it seems that they are in the same political boat. Both of them support Antonin Novotny whose position in the Party is becoming unstable. They are both grateful to Novotny for many reasons. This is why the letter incriminating Sejna is not discovered until Mamula is removed from his office on 16th January 1968.
It is just a question of time, when Šejna’s scandals will completely discredit his political position.
Nonetheless, Šejna does not give up and hopes that he will be able to fend off the imminent danger. There is still a chance. Not everything in the year 1967 is bad for Šejna. In October, his army career reaches its peak when he is appointed as a general. Thus a person, who is not in his dispositions a soldier and who does not care in what domain he will stand out, becomes, thanks to good luck, favouritism and the faults of the system a member of the army elite.
On the other hand, it is true, that most generals including the minister Lomsky do not want to tolerate Šejna’s promotion. President Novotny, however, does not want to listen to them and thwarts their plans. Lomsky must, at the president’s request, additionally nominate Sejna for the promotion, even though mainly the professional indicators are clearly against him. He is perceived only as a „political“ general and he does not meet the education and qualification requirements for the position. In his merely forty years, Šejna is appointed as a major general by the command of the President of the Republic n. 17/67, despite all the substantial reservations.
For many of the president’s protege’s enemies, this is a sufficient signal to be vigilant. The promotion without any doubt means, that Šejna has not been defeated yet. It is not until Novotny’s political failure and resignation and Šejna’s flight that many start saying what they did not dare to say before. It is not until then, that people speak about a cunning, selfish and treacherous man with two faces. The time has not come, though, at the end of 1967 for so much buck-passing. Šejna is still a man of influence despite his problems and it is worthwhile not to come into conflict with him.