Miroslav David

“When I came there (forced labours), we unloaded wagons. The Germans were still in a boiler room, the better positions were taken by the Germans, we had to unload the wagons. For example potatoes or coke. Coke was the worst. The whole wagon warmed up and the water was poured on it. And when it was freezing, the temperatures were seventeen or eighteen degrees below zero, it was something! And we had to work from six a.m. to six and sometimes to eight p.m. The wagons had to be empty because the army needed them. I have really bad memories of it. The Germans had to join the army after some time and so a lot of Czechs had to work there, even farmers from Lukavec.”

“I helped my parent to pasture the cows. Each day, when I came from school, I brought my dad lunch and I took the cows out to pasture. I told my dad that I had to study many times. And he: ‘Take the book with you and you can study there.‘ But I grazed three cows and also sheep! And when they ran away! Or the cow licked the notebook or the book. I had a life like that.”