David Binar

“Eventually, after maybe two hours that we spent being stuck in Rozvadov, they let us go. So we brought a batch of the Svědectví magazine. Back then there was a huge demand for all sorts of publications, books, recordings, a huge hunger because there was nothing here. Everything in Czech that could somehow be brought here in Czechoslovakia, all that went here. There were stands everywhere, a stand with books on every corner, people were shopping, they were queueing for books, something completely unimaginable today. Those were beautiful times. The atmosphere in Prague was absolutely amazing then, kind of euphoric, extremely friendly, people were friendly. There were still all sorts of posters and signs around the city, from the point where it all broke down. It wasn't even a month after the 17th of November. People were dancing on the Old Town Square. Beautiful, beautiful times.”

“The regime didn't like him and tried to break him in several ways, either to make him cooperate with the StB or with the regime. Or they would actually bully him – not only him but also our family. My dad would constantly be taken to interrogations after work. They would wait for him in a car and just take him away. And he had no idea – would he be coming back, would he never come back, would they lock him up right away, would they let him go? They kept putting pressure on him to sign a collaboration contract with the StB. Which he never did and that's something I truly admire him for. Because I don't know whether in that situation - a young family, two kids, huge pressure - whether I wouldn't perhaps give in, I really don't know. It is very difficult to carry out judgments and retrospectively say that someone was a collaborator. There were many reasons for collaborating.”