Viliam Záhora

“I was also in Púchov for half a year, because they took us there from Nitra. There were 32 novices, when the State Security members cam;, the Barbarian Night began and I was terribly surprised they found us in Nitra. They had long coats and that night they pointed their guns to our foreheads. It took only 5 or 10 minutes and the whole Zobor was occupied by the armed service. I don’t know if they break opened the door or what they did. The ŠtB members sneaked away and two policemen were guarding us near the bus. They said: ‘You are young, the future is awaiting you!’ Well, it was the future that after Stalin’s death I had to mine 800 meters below surface.”

“Then I went to Košice to apply for studying at the Faculty of Medicine. One woodsman was there from our village, as there was also a forestry school in Košice. He came from a religious family and they allowed me to sleep over at their house. Above his bed he had a picture of Stalin! I told him: ‘Jozef, do you know who Stalin was? Why do you have him above your head?’ He told me: ‘You know there are some students so powerful here that they even can send their professors to jail! That’s why I have Stalin here.’ ‘Oh, come on, you want to say they would kick you out of school?’ And he said they could. So I was quite sad because of that situation. My friend, coming from such a religious Christian family, having Stalin above his head!”