Filip Paulech

“We had to work under a horrible terror. When our trolleys were empty, we had to run back to the place of excavation. And of course, the rails had such couplings and bumps. As we were running along those rails, we hit the lump and derailed the trolley. There were just two of us and we didn't have enough strength to lift the trolley back on its rails. The lieutenant being a commander of the company took out his gun and screamed, 'I shall shoot you like dogs! You think you can sabotage it here? You are politically unreliable, so when I shoot you, nothing happens!' That's what he yelled at me in Czech. He was an officer who supposedly came with General Svoboda up to Prague. They liberated Prague and then he happened to be the commander of our company. His name was lieutenant Terelia.”

“During the winter, when we were going to work, I got tonsillitis. I had high fever. In the barracks there was a doctor, so I went to see him. I got a paper from him stating I had to stay in bed as I had fever. So I walked from Plavecký Mikuláš back to show it to my commander. Then I lay down. There were about six or seven of us having fever in the room. We didn't come to work the next day, since we had it confirmed from the doctor. The commander came to our room and began yelling: 'You darn rogues; get out of here right away! Get down from your beds and start the fatigue duty!' It meant cleaning the halls, toilets, sweeping the courtyard, etc. While having the fever. So this was how they accepted if someone was ill. From those times I have chronic throat inflammation lasting my whole life. That's where it began.”