František Netušil

“The weather was horrible during the transfer. It was freezing, 10 to 15 degrees below zero [Celsius]. I rode in a V3S, which only had canvas covering the hull. There was a little stove up front by the cabin, but it had no chance whatsoever to heat the place up. We couldn’t move, and we were all frozen stiff. I was terribly cold. I had a Panzerfaust with me, and I knew I mustn’t lose it, because otherwise they’d surely lock me up in Sabinov [a military prison - ed.]. We knew we were going at the Poles. The officers talked about it, they’d let something slip from time to time. They were also frightened. Suddenly, we weren’t idiots and imbeciles. I won’t forget my commander’s words: ‘You’ll be glad you’ve got those steel pots on your heads, in the end. They’ll come in handy now. You’re going up live now.’ Just the thought of shooting at someone made me feel all queasy. But on the other hand, there were also those among us who liked it, who were looking forward to getting a shot out. They wanted to be in the thick of it.”

“We arrived in Chrudim, where people ran up to us, threw us food and said we were going against the Poles. We told them we knew about it. We said goodbye. We felt awful at that moment. Also, we were really tired, frozen stiff, and famished to such an extent that it was just too much to bear. They led us into some barracks, which I have fond memories of because I came into some room for the evening, and I saw bedsheets and sleeping sacks there. And it was warm, it was very pleasant. The last thing I remember is that I caught hold of the bedpost and fell asleep on my feet. They woke us up a few hours later, saying we had to move on. We thought we were going against the Poles, but luckily we started returning to our barracks. People started saying it had only been an exercise. I don’t know what people say of it now, how it was seen by the people who didn’t participate in it, but we were going against the Poles. We were tremendously lucky not to have crossed the borders. I couldn’t imagine myself shooting at someone.”