Herbert Rösler

Herbert: My name is Herbert Rösler, I was born on 25 March 1930 here in this house.” Annelise: “And we’re not leaving it.” Herbert: “I went to school in Dolní Polubné. When I finished school I learnt to be a cooper, we made barrels, it was easy, everything by hand. I was there five years. Then I also joined the glass works.”

Annelise: “They wanted to send our old granny away. My father said that if she went, we would go as well. I was twelve at the time, my sister was six.” Herbert: “Our granddads had a so-called Gottwaldschein. A card that said they worked in the glass works, that they could not be deported.” Annelise: “We had an armband, a white one, like that we’re Germans, and a P on it to show we were workers [pracující].”

Annelise: “We had a course. How are things? - Thank you, not too bad, one mustn’t complain. That’s how we learnt, but that’s all we knew. I knew one more phrase from my dad: Pretty girl - kissy. When I was fourteen, I still couldn’t speak Czech properly, I just couldn’t. They didn’t teach me it at home.” Herbert: “I served in the military without speaking any Czech. I still can’t speak it. My commander knew some German, he was Hungarian, one Bútora: ‘Rösler, if you didn’t have it well set up, I will shoot you.’ ”