Josef Šubrt

“We all welcomed the Prague Spring, it was exciting. Those were the times when we thought that finally, regardless of their party affiliation, real experts who knew to do their jobs were to take up managing positions. I mean, in the factories, at the cash desk as well as in the individual workplaces. But this vision of mine that things could actually change for the better only lasted for several months. I must say I was disappointed.”

“Even after 1968 I used to walk around Russia with a tricolor on my lapel. Everyone could easily realize who I was. People were intrigued and asked me: ‘What is happening in your country?’ I replied: ‘Nothing is happening. We just wanted to live our way but did nothing wrong in the meantime.’ Sometimes they would reply: ‘The newspapers are telling a different story.’ So I always explained: ‘Anything can be written in the papers but not everything is true.’ So I repeatedly defended the claim that 1968 was an occupation. I also stood my ground when discussing it with the regular people whom I met often. And never had anyone sent a secret agent after me and never was I afraid to speak up.”

“In the case of this helicopter it was somehow unusual. We couldn’t go investigate ourselves – there was a lot of supervision in this single case. We couldn’t even touch anything ourselves. Everyone had their own issue to investigate to and had to work completely independently, not discussing anything with the others. We must’ve kept shut. My task was to find out whether the engine caused the accident. That is what I was asked to answer and nothing else.”