Jaroslav Šťastný

"So at every admissions interview to a conservatory or university or wherever, the first question was, because my uncle emigrated in 1949 to Germany, then to the United Kingdom and then to the USA, and he was my godfather, so they asked me, whether I know, how high is the unemployment in the USA. I was prepared, I always answered:" At least six millions." And then the interview continued. "

"I emigrated in 1970, in October, on January 13, our daughter was born. So we wanted because otherwise the three of us and the child would probably not manage to emigrate later, so we still traveled in such a way, one of those last chances to get out with a trip abroad. No problems, no border crossings, just get on a plane and fly away in peace. Well, it was still possible that year, in 1970, that autumn, two years after the occupation, many things were still possible. Afterwards, it was really hard."