Lubomír Dvořák

"I was drafted on April 15. As a scout I had been looking forward to serving military service, but it ended up completely different. We arrived in Svatá Dobrotivá, we were dropped off there and the commander said, 'Comrades, there is nothing for you but work, work and barbed wire!' That's unforgettable."

"As far as I know, she told me at that time, I was already going out with Marie - my future wife - that an acquaintance met her and told her: 'Watch out for him, we're after him!' I hadn't thought of it, but I didn't realise until sometime later, I don't know if it was before that. But we had an agreement at home that it looked like I should run away. Only my uncle and my mother knew about it, nobody else knew about it. On Sunday I went to Znojmo and they were waiting for me at the train, two men stopped me and took me away. I don't know where, I don't know anything. I just remember that they told me: 'If you don't know anything, we'll keep an eye on you. Sign it here!' So I signed it, and they threw me out, and I don't know anything. I don't know anything at all, my memory failed completely and I walked around Znojmo all night not knowing where to go."

"I had friends. I had a friend, Milek (Bohumil) Kiba, who was older than me, and he sort of guided me until he brought me to Scouting in 1938. Although my parents didn't like it very much because they were both Sokol members, but I went to the clubhouse anyway and I was happy there, I liked it awfully. The best part was that afterwards I was to take my promise by the campfire. That was my most beautiful experience, when I was promising upon my honour to love my Czechoslovak Republic as best I could and to serve it faithfully at all times. To help my neighbour like myself and to have a Scout, a Boy Scout, as a brother. And so God help me. And this has been with me all my life. I became a Scout and still feel like a Scout."