"My strongest memory is when we liberated Czechoslovakia and came to Kežmarok, Slovakia at night. As we were tired and dirty, we lied on the ground and slept. I woke up in the morning and have seen the beautiful mountains. Slovakia was better off then, the stores were full. For two days, I could not believe that there is still peace on earth, that everything is not destroyed. We have not seen this for ages."
"We were happy when we seized Ostrava. The people would welcome us, and I just could not handle the happiness of the thought that the War was to be over soon. I had never thought I would make it till the end of the War. "
"There were lots of Carpathian Ukrainians in our army who volunteered for the army and even for the front. And they were true heroes – fighting without asking."
"After they had been liberated I have seen a concentration camp – my brother was held prisoner in Auschwitz. It was terrible. I could not see any human beings, just skeletons."
"He offered me a marriage straight ahead, suggesting I will leave the house already as his wife. My dad disagreed, he kept saying: 'You have lots of time'. So, we went to the army and had an amazing wedding there. I can never forget it: General Svoboda prepared it himself and it took place in a cathedral in Přemyšl."
"When I saw the horror and the bestialities, it was inconceivable for me that an educated man with some sort of human feeling can deal with people this way."
Viktorie Ivancová was born in 1923 in Luck at Volyň. At that time, Volyň used to be a part of Poland. However, according to the Molotov - Ribbentrop pact, the area was annexed by the USSR at the beginning of the War. Mrs. Ivancová’s father was a Russian, and Russian was the most commonly used language in the family. Thus, she had no trouble finding a job under the new political circumstances, and spent some time working as a secretary for the Soviets. The breaking point in her life is meeting her first husband, who came to Volyň along with the 1st Czech independent brigade in the USSR under the command of general Svoboda. Mrs. Ivancová joined the army and married her husband there. The marriage was short and ended tragically. Her husband was killed at the border of Czechoslovakia during the Dukla operation. Mrs. Ivancová stayed in the army, working as a technician. At the end of the War she discovered about her brothers imprisonment in Auschwitz, where they later met. Viktorie Ivancová actively participated on liberating Ostrava, and later settled down in the area.
