Josef Brzoň

„The Jihlava prison had been a hell for me. Not because they would beat me or so, but because of the system that had been in place there. At night, there were two or three strip lights, floodlights that would shine on you from the ceiling. And you had to lie on your back, on straw mattresses that were on the floor, and you had to lie with your hand on the blanket. And it was bad, as for three nights I couldn´t sleep, as if you would roll over on your side, there had been a metal door and the guard would kick it so hard it sounded like thunder. And the whole prison would wake up. We were in solitary cells, the chair had been bolted to the floor, the only water you had came through a hose in the wall and there were these squat toilets. And you had to sit on the chair with your hands on your knees, facing the door. And he (the guard) supervised only two or three cells so he would peek in every few seconds, checking if you didn´t cut your throat or wrists.”

“I was arrested on the 4th of January 1954 in Šumbark. Secret Police men from Jihlava came for me. And it had been very cold on that day, I don´t know exactly when they had put me in chains. I just remember that people were already coming from work. And some guys from Slovakia who knew me were asking me: 'What it this, Josef?' So, I just showed them the chains. And after that, we would get in a car in a hurry and then there was this horrible journey to Jihlava. As if the nature itself would conspire against us, we would get stuck in the snow, there was a blizzard. And they were cursing me: 'It would be best to kill you right on the spot, you bastard!' They had to get out and push the car, so it had been quite late, I don´t know what time it was, when we would come to the Jihlava prison courtyard. And there were those maybe four bastards waiting and one of them would point on me and say: 'For you, you son of a bitch, just for you we were waiting there!'”