A Czech Family Remembers 1989

Jiri Homola, 77, and his wife, Jana Homolova, 57, at their home in Cakovice

Jiri and Jana's 18-year-old son, Josef, was born after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. - Josef has learned about the communist era from his parents, but says there's little focus on modern Czech history in school.

At his workshop in Satalice, Jiri Homola produces plastic components for windows.

Jiri Homola in the town of Vodochody in 1965. - Among other jobs, Homola was a driving instructor, army dispatch rider, and motocross racer before he went into plastics production.

Jiri and Jana celebrate their wedding in the Czech mountain town of Pec pod Snezkou in May 1982. - In 1989, Jiri got involved in the protests that led to the Velvet Revolution. The pair fondly remembers the euphoria of the times, but feels disappointed by political developments since then.

Jiri and Jana at a cottage in Pec pod Snezkou in 1987 - Since 1989, Jana says, the Velvet Revolution is little more than "a nice memory."