Ivan and Marta Straznicky receiving their citizenship papers, 1974

photo: courtesy of the Straznicky family

Between 1968 and 1969, Canada admitted 11,943 Czech refugees, largely through a special team sent by the department of immigration to Vienna. The Straznickys were part of a new wave of Czechoslovakians, different from the earlier post-war immigration. This group was on average younger, better educated, and highly skilled or professionally trained.