Pajas happily worked as Deputy Head of Department of Theoretical Physics, with research and development freedom, and started to collaborate with scientists from Italy. He notes that the Soviets were deeply afraid of such western-orientated research developments. When the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968, life abruptly changed. Pajas was living near Prague’s airport, and during the night heard the sound of Russian aircraft invading his country, a new airplane landing “every other minute.” After the successful invasion, a quarter-million people were expelled from their professions, including Pajas. “Can you imagine it, a young strong man, working hard in your beloved field of physics, and [be forced to] abruptly stop?” Pajas’ expulsion came after his refusal to sign documents that confirmed he was happy with the invasion. “I was de-facto expelled, on political grounds,” he says. “We were young and tried to oppose the invasion… but it was a long time ago,” he adds with a laugh. Not allowed to continue with any of his nuclear research activities under Soviet leadership, Pajas was forced to work in Prague’s public transport system from 1972, where he stayed until 1989. Nevertheless, Pajas doesn’t feel that his work in the transport system went to waste. “To some
Pajas tried to oppose the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
extent I feel expertise in transport running, and I can proudly say the development of the Prague transport system was pre-calculated by my team and me.” In November 1989, the Velvet revolution changed Pajas’ life. “It was at the end of October; I was at an international conference in Russia, somewhere south of Moscow,” recalls Pajas. “We had a TV, where we could follow the situation.” One day later the Berlin Wall fell, and there was an expectation that the regime in Czechoslovakia would fall quickly. “There was a need to say stop, enough,” Pajas confidently says. Pajas attended the massive demonstration at Letná park, near Prague Castle.
During the Velvet Revolution in 1989 Pajas helped to set up the Charter 77 foundation in Czechoslovakia.
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