Lieutenant Colonel Josef Majírský
* unknown
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“(You mentioned that during the oath ceremony Gottwald spoke about some ideals. What kind of ideals?) He said that Czechoslovakia would become the same state it had been before. That Slovakia would become its part again. That it would be the same way like in times of Masaryk and Beneš. That we needed to unite and fight together. We crossed over to the Soviet side precisely because this was something attractive to us. Nobody had to persuade us to join them. No persuasion was necessary, not even for the ordinary privates.”
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“(How were the assaults carried out?) These were carried out in the evenings. We would go to roads where we knew the Germans would be passing. We hid in a bend and when a unit was approaching, we would throw a grenade at the front row and then start shooting at the rest of them. Mostly, we gained ammunition and provision. This is the way it was done.”
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“This was when the Slovak National Uprising broke out, and we were to go Slovakia to support it. But we were not sent directly to Slovakia, but first to Dukla, where we spent about ten days. But the Slovak National Uprising began to drag for some time, and so they sent us there by planes. But it took about a month and a half, or two months, till we got to Slovakia. We arrived to Banská Bystrica to an airfield near Zvolen. There we were divided into smaller groups.”
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“(In your opinion, has the whole Dukla operation served some purpose considering the enormous losses?) I was a soldier then. I obeyed orders and carried out tasks for which I had been trained. There was not much else to think about. There are always many generals after a war is over. We broke through, but what political impact it had.... From today’s point of view, it all looks different. I cannot intervene in the political trends. We were ordered to break through, and we succeeded in that.)”
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“(When you were in war and you experienced difficult moments, have you ever regretted having joined the army?) No. We considered it our duty. For example, last year we received some financial reward. But we never served there for money. Those who were fighting in the west were saving their pay in international banks. After the war I asked a friend of mine where he had got such a beautiful cloth. And he replied: ´I have been saving for that.´ We were spending money for airplanes, for tanks, and such. We had clothes and food to eat, and we did not desire anything else. I believe there was a fundamental difference.”
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Full recordings
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neznámo, 14.10.2008
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duration: 45:08
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A young boy died right in front of me. But you could not become affected by it, for it was the war
Josef Majírský is a Slovak national. In 1942 he was drafted to the Slovak State army. He went through a one-year training and afterwards was sent to the front to fight against the Soviet Union. After three months, when the German units were on retreat, he ran over to the Soviet army. He spent about a month and a half in a gulag. Afterwards, he joined the 2nd Czechoslovak paradesant brigade which was being formed in Jefremov. The unit went through a training there and then was moved to Proskurov. While still in the Soviet Union, the units took the oath, to which Klement Gottwald was also present. The unit was then sent to support the Slovak National Uprising. They took part in the fighting at Dukla, which was the first combat experience for Mr. Majírský. At the end of the war Josef Majírský came with his unit to Žilina, and after the war was over, he remained in the army and was eventually promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He retired in 1977.