"My first experience was when my son was born in 1968. I heard Dubcek by the wire, he delivered us some hope. I already had plans in the maternity ward where I held him in my arms that I could go to Canada. And I already knew that I would place him at my sister's in Hrabyně. I had my plans but sadly the August came and they were all gone. My brother keps sending invitation letters for me three of four times a year, which had to be aprroved by the lawyer to let me go, but unfortunately they said my stay was undesirable. When the revolution came, perhaps I went to Toronto on the first jumble plane to meet my brother."
"My younger brother, it was during the war... My mother was sad that Christmas was coming and the Germans were walking with a bucket and carrying carp, that we probably wouldn't have carp. Where would the Czechs get fish from? Suddenly my brother found a sack and an ax somewhere and got lost, he ran around the track under the viaduct and headed straight, he was heading to a place where he used to skate before, the winters were real, they were hard, the ice was rough. Two Germans were guarding the bridge, but he risked this, crawling out of pity for his mother a few feet under the viaduct around the track, until he crawled to where he knew the fish were. He cut through the ice and got as many fish out as he could carry, he had a whole bag, he couldn't even carry them anymore. If the Germans saw him, according to the laws they could have shoot him on spot. He was not allowed to be at that place. But again he was closer to his grandfather, so he came at night, it was really late in the evening, with that bag of carp and his grandfather was surprised by what he did there and even had carps. He warmed him up on his stove, said where he got them from, that he had stolen them from the Germans, so he showed much courage. So my grandfather secretly distributed the fish with him to his loved ones and families at night, and he also drove him home, when his mother no longer knew where he was. To this day, my aunt, who died two years ago, remembers that it was the most beautiful Christmas of war."
Božena Martiníková, née Gavalčíková, was born on May 16, 1940 in the village of Háj in Silesia near Opava. She had two older brothers Miroslav and Bedřich and a sister - twin Oldřiška. She started school after the end of the war, specifically in 1946. In the same year, she began attending Sokol. After her apprenticeship, she worked in a shop for 50 years. After February 1948, her brother Bedřich Gavalčík emigrated to Germany under dramatic circumstances and later to Canada. The mother was able to visit Bedřich in 1967. The witness also received an invitation to visit from his brother, but after August 1968, the authorities rejected all requests to travel to the West. The witness’s son was not accepted to study law precisely because he was an emigrant in the family. She finally saw her brother Bedřich after 40 years, after the Velvet Revolution.
