Božena Csoroszová

"My parents joined the party [the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia] after the war. They joined out of conviction, they wanted us to have a better life. Years later, one was horrified at what was happening. I remember a huge board on the outside of the window with Gottwald and Stalin. Women were making paper flowers and decorating everything. And there was a parade. We lived in it. And then you learned what Stalin had done. Even my husband's oldest brother was in the gulag after the war. He didn't come back until 1949. One hundred and twenty went there and only fifteen came back. He never talked about it. I didn't find out until later."

"I was a goose girl. We also kept pigs and rabbits. My aunt had a pig and chickens. One spring we had goslings hatching. Then my mother put them in the pigsty. I was maybe nine or ten years old. Mommy says to me: 'Boženka, put the little goslings in the basket.' So I started to take them out, but the goose protected them. She jumped on my back, scratched me and pecked me. I cried for help. Then I used to go herding them in Stromovka park, which is now the entrance to the zoo, and on up to the hill where the pond was. I'll tell you, we didn't have everything, but we were humble and enjoyed everything. Today the young are spoiled."

The witness sings a sample of the miners' anthem and then another miners' song in the Cieszyn Silesian dialect.

"What is your earliest childhood memory?" - "Earliest? When I was little, my mother used to sing Osiřelo dítě [The Orphan Child – trans.] to me. It was sad. I didn't remember it until years later. And I remember in fourth or fifth grade we learned the Chinese national anthem. I still know it to this day." – "Then sing it for us." – "I can't sing anymore. But I'll try." (Sings a bit of the Chinese national anthem.)