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Emma Budová, née Bergmannová, was born on January 30, 1933 in Aš to a mixed Czech-German family. Mom was Czech and dad German. Emma had a brother, Gustav, and a sister, Elsa, who was two years younger. The family moved constantly, they lived in poverty, they had no bathroom or heating. During the war, the father was imprisoned for half a year in pretrial detention for slandering Adolf Hitler. After the end of World War II, most of the memorial’s family was moved away, but the Bergmanns were allowed to stay. She attended five grades of general school and at the age of 14 joined a spinning mill in Aš. She did not learn Czech well. The language barrier was the cause of a whole series of problems that she experienced both at school and at work. Brother Gustav fought on the Eastern Front, from where he returned after five years, and then lived in Regensburg, Germany. He crossed the border illegally several times to visit Emma and the rest of the family. Both of Mrs. Budová’s parents had health problems. Mom had a mental breakdown and dad died of lung cancer. Today, Emma Budová lives in Germany and part of the family lives in the Czech Republic. She does not like to remember the time of the war and the time immediately after it, and she preferred to forget many sad moments.