Jarmila Valášková

"Mum did the washing in the river. In those days, they washed clothes in a wooden washtub. When the Germans were fleeing from the front, there was a huge cauldron left behind in which they had cooked. Grandpa took it and brought water from the river. We lived by the road, there was a sawmill, a wood store and the river was flowing near there. And there was a ford to the other side. That's where grandpa put the cauldron. They brought water from the river, they made fire under the cauldron, the water was boiling, the wooden bathtub was put there, and there they washed the laundry. And then they would go to the river only to rinse the laundry. And one day a painter, I don't know what his name was, came in and painted my mother washing. There was also a lady who was helping her. I was wading in the river. Mum asked him if he would sell the picture, that it would be worth a lot for us. He didn't want to. He said it was a rarity and that he was glad he could capture such things. He didn't sell the picture."

"At the end of April, when the Soviet army was advancing towards us, my parents decided that I would go to my dad's parents' place, because our flat was right on the road. At that time, only my grandfather was alive. And Dad's two sisters also lived there, Aunt Zagurová and her children and Aunt Pytlová, whose husband was a policeman. My parents packed a gold ring, a chain, a watch in my pram, put it nicely under the duvet and sent me up the road to them. It had been arranged that I would come there. So I went up there. There were German soldiers all around. They were sitting along the roads, on the steps of the houses. I don't know how many days I stayed with my grandfather, but because I was born on 4 May, my parents came to congratulate me on May 3. They came, they wished me well, I probably got some candy. When I saw them, I didn't want to stay there anymore, I wanted to go home with them. So after a lot of persuasion, they took me with them. I remember when we got home, there was a bundle of blankets tied up in the middle of the bedroom. I guess they had expected to have to leave. So Mummy untied it again and we went to bed. I fell asleep, and when I woke up the next morning, I'll never forget it, my mother was standing at the window crying. I immediately wondered if my father had been arrested by the Germans, because he was very afraid of them and was hiding from them. I asked my mother what had happened. She said, 'Don't cry. Nothing happened to Daddy, but we are free. The Red Army is already here.'"