Erika Brinkmannová

"Then the expulsion began. They walked around us, the people who lived in the houses behind us. I was surprised that they were so well-dressed. The children were always patched up - and suddenly they had beautiful clothes. I was like, 'Where are they going? I will go with them.' I went with them to the intersection. There was an open truck, it didn't have a tarpaulin. The board was there and they walked up the board and they took them to Jáchymov, to the collection camp near the factory. There were rails. They could go to the cattle train there, there was no train at Rýžovna. They loaded them there. Grandma too. She walked up that board. I wanted to go too, I always wanted to go to the world. I didn't want to stay at Ryžovna. But they took me off, it was not possible.'

"I wanted to go to Prague early the next morning, so I didn't close the blinds in the bedroom. The factory and the villa where we lived were directly on the E55. So all the cars and trucks to Dresden and to Cínovec drove past the house. In the evening I went to bed in my bedroom, I left the blinds up and suddenly at night – in that bedroom it was as in the day! I woke up, it was like neon light, but everywhere. I looked out the window, two tanks were already driving side by side. I ran to the living room where the radio was. I turned on the western radio, they were playing such night music - and suddenly they stopped in the middle of the song and said that they were going to inform about the emergency situation in Czechoslovakia. That twenty minutes ago - they came from Cínovec and drove to Prague past us - the occupation of the Warsaw Pact began. That they raided the customs office up there and were going to Prague. I went to see them in the morning. When I drove about two or three kilometers, one tank was on the left in a ditch... One car on the right. I looked further out the window and trucks with tarps were driving behind the tanks. There were automatic barriers. Their lights they did not know. They sprang up, pointed guns with bayonets at it, and cried, 'Halt!' They thought that someone was stopping them. I saw from the window that they were sitting in two rows under the tarpaulin and they had one bayonet next to the other. I knew it was no good. I followed them and listened to the radio. They already shot at the radio and said that no one should go to Prague, but whoever is already on the way to Prague, that there is a patrol of our people, they take gold rings. So that people don't take it to Prague that the Russians will take everything. Our people organized a patrol, where people signed what they were leaving there - and picked it up on the way back."

“I remember when the Red [Revolutionary] Guard came to us. I was alone at home with my mother. So, I know that the Revolutionary Guard did not have green uniforms. I remember the colors. I thought all soldiers were green. No, they had yellow ones. They had that from Rommel from the desert. Here they had a red band, RG, and they came to us. I was playing outside, I thought I would get chocolate. They went to our house, I ran and I didn't see my mother anymore. Dad was not at home, he was in war. They were looking for an excuse to loot it. They said they were looking for my brother. But we didn't know where he was either. They took mom to the attic. I was looking for her. I was running, she was nowhere. And they were already taking out what they liked, they had a hay cart outside. Mom was in the attic, standing in the corner. Two soldiers were aiming at her, one in jodhpurs had a revolver and the one kneeling had a long rifle. He had a watch and said that when the time was up, he would shoot her if she didn't tell where the brother was. I was worried. But it was probably just an excuse. They didn't shoot her, they just waited until they took all the stuff away. Then they left.'

“And so we were alone there. Once I was playing outside and soldiers walked by. They had these long knives (bayonets – ed. note) on their rifles and light-coloured uniforms. They came to us. Before I made it home to find out what was happening, I was near the house, I thought that I would get a chocolate from them or something like that. Well, and in the meantime they cut everything open, they were standing on chairs, opening the cupboards, taking everything out and putting all of that in front of our house. I wanted my mother, I called for her, but she was not to be found in any of the rooms. The door to the attic was open and my mum was there standing in the corner, one soldier was kneeling in front of her and aiming at her with a rifle, another one had a watch in his hand and he was counting. As in, he was going to shoot her… They wanted to know where my brother was.”

“The whole night dogs were barking, cats were meowing, cows were bellowing, nobody was milking them. So one day they came and herded them all into a pen and then they stood there until they found a place for them. They hadn’t thought it through, what they were going to do with those animals. My sister was four years older than me and she was so traumatised that till this day she cannot go to that village of ours at all. She still sees it in front of her eyes and she still feels sorrow after all these years.”

“One beautiful day I was playing with the neighbour’s kids, I was about five years old, and suddenly I saw our neighbours walk by all dressed up. They walked in four rows towards the crossroad that was about one and a half kilometres away. I didn’t know what was happening so I followed them, being all curious. Just the way I am. So I stood by and those people were getting in trucks. So I asked my mum at home where were all those neighbours going. They told me at home that they were being taken to Jáchymov and that they would not be coming back.”