Vlasta Šmídová

* 1939

Witnesses of local events connected to WWII
14. 2. 1945 - Bombing of Prague , 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 31. 12. 1992 Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
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    August occupation

    (audio)
    duration: 01:09
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    "Well, from the 20th to the 21st of August, we went to bed and it was about eleven o'clock and I couldn't sleep and I kept saying to my man: 'What's that humming? What's that humming?' Just like... and there was nothing to be seen, but a terrible, such a strange hum. And he replied: 'Come on, some planes, so maybe they are bringing something to the airport, or I don´t know, okay?' He said: 'Please, just go back to sleep.' And as I couldn't, I kept trying to fall asleep and suddenly I rushed out out and said: 'There are tanks driving past the Lenin street.' And my husband told me: 'Come on, you must be dreaming, how could any tanks get to that street?' I told him to come and have a look. So we did and soon realised that the roaring was caused by the planes bringing those tanks, and from there, which is a short distance away, those tanks were coming down to Prague."

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    Praha, 16.11.2021

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    duration: 02:42:15
    media recorded in project The Stories of Our Neigbours
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To this day I get goosebumps, when I hear the sound of sirens the first Wednesday each month

Vlasta Šmídová (en)
Vlasta Šmídová (en)
photo: Post Bellum
photo: Post Bellum
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Vlasta Šmídová was born on August 6, 1939 in Prague. As a child, she experienced air raids during World War II. She was very sporty since childhood and she also met her future husband Gustav Šmíd on the sports field. He remembers the night from August 20 to 21, 1968, when they lived on today’s Europa, then Lenin Street, and were woken up by the sounds of arriving tanks. Her husband served as cultural attaché in Tokyo from 1970 to 1975, and as ambassador to Japan and the Philippines from 1982 to 1987. Vlasta spent both stays with her husband and their sons in Tokyo. In 2021, she lived in Prague.

Show witness full story (Česky)
Photos (3)
  • Vlasta Šmídová (en)
    Vlasta Šmídová (en)
    photo: Post Bellum
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  • Vlasta Šmídová (en)
    Vlasta Šmídová (en)
    photo: Post Bellum
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  • Students team of the Stories of Our Neighbors from ZŠ Litvínovská 600 in Prague 9
    Students team of the Stories of Our Neighbors from ZŠ Litvínovská 600 in Prague 9
    photo: Post Bellum
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Links (1)

Život v Japonsku v 70. letech

  • date:
    09.05.2022
  • medium type:
    Internet
  • medium name:
    www.pribehynasichsousedu.cz