Jozef Horváth

“Well, at work my superiors told me: 'You are young and perspective expert. You should join the party!' We were sitting together at some kind of committee, when I told them: 'Comrades, I am not so politically aware to be worthy of joining such people as yourselves.' They understood back then why I didn't explain my reasons to them. I simply told them I don't consider myself to be mature enough. This occurred when they wanted to nominate me as a party candidate, I think. It took place at the city Institute of the National Health, sometime in the beginning of 1980s.”

“Well, the shooting began on Main Street, but I think it was the day after the August 21, 1968. He wasn't in Slovakia; he studied playing the trumpet somewhere abroad. I met him near the Zlatý Dukát hotel and I told him: 'Laci, don't go, because they are shooting there.' In the meantime, we spoke together about how he was and where he studied… 'Come back.' Because some shots were fired 'for fun' into the air. I don't know whether you know where Zlatý Dukát is, but he walked that way and when he happened to be at the place, they began shooting on the Main Street. He wanted to hide in the premises near Tuzex, in the yard. He was about to run in and hide, but he didn't make it. I just saw how he got shot a few times. I can still see it today, how he was struck and fell down. I think he didn't die immediately, but later, after the ambulance came. You know, then such a chaos erupted, the people were falling to the ground, running away after what had happened. Everyone was trying to run away to not be shot.”