A christening ceremony took place yesterday in Most for the new book "Hydrák a Staliňák v časech minulých" with participation by the Mayor of the City of Most, Mr Vlastimil Vozka. Its author is Miloslav Hrabák, who was born in Záluží and worked in the chemical plants there from the moment construction work began on them. What is now already the third book by Miloslav Hrabák maps construction and refurbishment of the plan for production of motor fuels in the period 1938 until 1948. The book will have a print run of 1,000 copies and its creation was supported by Unipetrol and Česká rafinérská, Most City Council, FIRECLAY a.s. and ARTECH "Chemical production has been part of the region's history for more than 70 years and thanks to this book, the public can learn more about its beginnings. A big thank you goes to Mr Miloslav Hrabák for the way he so painstakingly and thoroughly approaches presentation of the historical facts, contexts, but also his own experiences and memories," said the Managing Director of Unipetrol, Marek Switajewski. "I am happy that our company can contribute towards creation of such an interesting and historically valuable book. Apart from financial support, we provided Mr Hrabák with help collecting information and historical photographs."
In his new book, Miloslav Hrabák (1921) describes the beginnings of the chemical industry in Záluží and the often torturous paths which accompanied development of the complex here. Miloslav Hrabák worked in the chemical plants in Záluží for 55 years, and this is why he knows the environment here very well, the same as the fates of the people who worked there and lived in the surrounding areas.
Construction of the chemical plant had an absolutely fundamental effect on the life of Mr Hrabák's family. In 1940, he had to move out of the new part of Záluží with his family. This is because their house stood on an area which had been chosen for construction of the future plant. In the same year, Miloslav Hrabák was also placed by the German labour office with construction companies and was given the position of stoker on excavators and locomotives. After 1945, Miloslav Hrabák worked in various locations around the chemical plant. After 1970, he was removed from his position as 01 operations manager due to his political opinions and then worked in the department of construction of long distance pipelines in the field of petrochemicals until 1995. He has been retired since 1995, but continued to work outside the company with private companies.
The book "Hydrák a Staliňák" is being printed by the K+B Most publishing house and will be available in bookshops in Most and Litvínov. The book is the third literary work by Miloslav Hrabák, his previous books being called "Zmizelé Záluží" and "Teplárna T-200 Srdce podniku".