Josefa Šánová

"One evening, the Czechs, some guys having a beer, agreed to have fun and built a snowman in the town, Chamberlain, a big snowman. Then the interrogation began, they even arrested three of them and then released them again. It was such a joke that they allowed themselves, then everyone stopped. They were afraid. Because the Germans were very thrilled, they were so full of strength and so willful to destroy and occupy it all. And they didn't give up until they got it all. "

"They just wanted to hurt us. To make sure we don't succeed, anything. " - " And did you go to church? " - " We didn't go to church because the Communists forbade us to do so. In front of the church stood those hags, as I say, several. And they controlled who went to church. And I didn't give a dime, as one says, and I went to church. But the director forbade me to. I still wanted my boy to receive the first communion. I wasn't allowed to send him anymore. And away from the church. However, I received complaints that I played the organ. And I don't play the organ. I donated the harmonium to the church. "

“Even Germans had (in winter 1944 – editor´s note) their school closed and had to take care of refugees; they also came to our school. So what shall we do about the furniture? We moved it to ours (home – editor´s note). And as the school office wished it, the children (did) so called home work. They came to our house twice a week and I prepared work for each grade for two days, they elaborated it themselves at home and gave it back to me, and I had more work ready for them. Those were four years, but only few children, overall around forty; only six first-graders, eight second graders... (The regime) lasted until liberation. We studied the materials, my parents gave us a room, where I could talk to the children a bit, advise them, asked their parents to handle them appropriately, as I knew all of them. Actually there was even a children (medical – editor´s note) consulting.”

“(In February 1948 – editor´s note) the situation was very tense. I got surprised by a lady, who ran into the class screaming: ‚And now you ran out, I shall teach here as a working class teacher!‘ I didn’t have a clue what was going on. A class full of children. So I ran out. We had no director, he was in the (neighbouring) secondary. We called him to come here to explain what was going on and what to do. I got resolved later, but it was a very awkward moment, when I thought we should fight or throw each other out of the room. How shall this end up? Then the director came in and settled everything. He said to the lady: ‚You need to get certain education, there are courses and you can apply as a tutoress in an after-school group.‘ One lady did the course, but the one, who visited me, did not.”

“The Russians marked Stonařov as a German village. So Brtnice and other villages were all right, here they stopped and could do whatever they wished. As it was a German region, it was allowed. Many things happened, as there were still some Germans here, who left only later. They were raided, Russians looted everything, raped women. It was terrible. When the front was passing, not even Czechs could show outside. Once I went out and immediately began screaming: ‚You German!‘ I was blond, a German type. I had to hide. Daddy barricaded all our doors with furniture. We just had a view of a pond. Mummy had to hide and all the young girls did likewise. It was a wild war and post-war time. The leaders (Red Army lieutenants – editor´s note) couldn’t really handle the situation yet, but later they did.”