Ingrid Petříková

„My brother Erich and Jenda lived in Moravia at her granny, because mum as I said, she had seven foster mothers and when she was pregnant, they were not glad and they´d chase her away. Then she served in Prague and she came back as she had difficulties to feed us all. So she kept us two here and Erich and Jenda were well off living with our Moravian granny. I remember we traveled by train in 1945 and everyone was there. When we went another time granny and daddy nor the boys were there. We would ask around and people said they´d displaced them. Only later, when we found my brother, I was sixteen then, he said they had to march a long was and it was terrible and granny and grandpa died then.“

„I remember it all very well, when the Russians came. In Vratislavice we have a pharmacy, a church, the House of freedom. That´s a kind of a main street. When the Russians came I had a pink bag and they gave me some chocolate and some sweets. Brother was two years older and he jumped up their tank and went almost to Jablonec with them and marched back on foot. That´s how I remember the event. It was jolly, the tanks and Russians. Mummy then cooked and helped around. There were Poles and Russians here.“

„So the people went to Germany, where my brother was living in Essen. He said: ,I had mummy, Inka and Pavel and Jenda, and we all lived in Vratislavice, but now I have no one in the whole world as they all died.‘ They said: ,How did they died? Mrs. Stará is there, Inka and Pavel as well.‘ –, That´s not possible, I write them letters and they keep coming back saying they´re dead. So I stopped sending them.‘ So the people took an address and gave it to mummy, then we made contact and so did he. When I was sixteen we went to the station and met up after a long time. And ever since then we kept visiting each other.“