Dear Mrs. Bata,

I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of your husband, a wonderful man and also an icon that has inspired generations and will continue to do so world-wide no matter in how distant future.

There is no doubt that Tomáš Baťa jr. will be a lasting source of pride for the Czechs. He managed not only to maintain a global empire once founded by his father, but to have it grow and flourish in spite of highly unfavorable circumstances. For a long time, the Bata Shoe Organization was one of the very few surviving symbols of the success of the once democratic and independent Czechoslovak state, later for many decades isolated under the Nazi and the Soviet dominated communist rules. We shall be grateful to him as to a man who has never forgotten his home country and came back to contribute to its taking the best possible path on the way toward becoming, again, a successful democracy with a functioning market economy. He will be remembered for his engagement in the early admission of the Czech Republic into the OECD as well as in educational and other projects, including the Tomáš Baťa University, the Junior Achievement Institute and the Tomáš Baťa Foundation.

I had the greatest respect for your husband and feel privileged to have been able to get to know him and you personally.

Please accept my deepest sympathies to you and your family. It seems impossible to imagine how difficult this must be for you. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Palouš