Brigitta Jonášová

“And then my colleague from work, she was a nurse, her name was Livečková and they were shooting after her on the side of the town hall and theatre. She was already lying on the ground, eye witnesses saw it and said they were still shooting into her. They my friend, he was one of my friends from a ski club, his two children were born recently and one of them he had not even seen because he was shot as well near the town hall gate. Then they shot one old man. There was a small house which was showing a weather so people went there to see and looked at the temperatures and weather and so on and they shot him in front of it. They shot more people because they made a row of tank tracks on the town hall and the names of those who died, were printed on it. It was not pretty. One year later, we wanted, we met in front of the town hall on the square as well and one such procession walked and it was us, we medical staff members walked down, alongside the post office and wanted to at least lay down flowers for Livečková. And there was a cordon of soldiers and they did not let anyone further, so we threw the bouquet there and they threw it out again. So, I said to myself that there is no sense in arguing, so we somehow dispersed calmly.”

“I had to learn Czech because my aunt took me to Liberec when I had to go to a doctor or something because my grandmother could not. First, she watched over for my ill mother and second, she could not speak a word in Czech. And my aunt told me you can go with us, you have these organs, but you will be quiet in a tram, you will not be allowed to chatter or we will be thrown out of the tram. And I, I was such a chatty girl so I started to speak German to them – what is this and that and aunt and why. Out of the sudden, the guard came with one more man and they threw us out. So, we had to walk. How old was I, about four, so we had to walk with my aunt to Liberec on foot.”

“He had worse relations. And I think I had it quite wonderful compared to him. He said he did not want to go to school at all. He said that there was one teacher or it was a director, he said so you see it children, this is the German bastard and he caught his hair and banged his head on a table. And he said he skipped school and he did not go to school at all and then he was scolded that he has to go to school. And he experienced a lot – or when they for example played with children or later as adults, some of them for instance said: I will not say anything, I will not play with anyone until this one gets lost.”