Marie Zdráhalová

„Then you knew the wording [of Charter 77] and you were somehow deciding whether to sign it or not? Was your husband making up his mind? Were you discussing it together?” – “No, it was absolutely clear. Because it had an obvious aim – that people should be able to do what they’re interested in and what they want to pursue. That they should be able to educate themselves. Have their own opinions. And have discussions with people with different opinions. And agree on things. So that the reality would no longer be that one party was right and the other was not and they couldn’t agree on anything. You can always come to and agreement. If there’s will.”

“So the eldest kid started going to school immediately. How were they doing?” – “They were doing just fine. Kids learn fast. Kids don’t care that much about language, if you talk this or that, they just accept it. Thank God, I have to say.” – “The eldest son, he was six – how did he take it? You told him that you would have to move and that you would live there. Did he ask questions?” – “He had no idea, really. We traveled by train, for a long time and that was satisfactory because otherwise we couldn’t really afford to go places. And there they took such great care of us and the kids could go to some amusement park. The kids didn’t had to deal with it much. On the contrary, when they started visiting their grandma after it had been allowed, they were surprised how different it was there.” – “They actually felt to be Austrians?” – “Yes, they would have a hard time to adapt. They speak Czech, of course. But they would have a hard time adjusting to the conditions here, what is and isn’t allowed.”