Miroslav Ekart

"Before the Munich [Agreement] there used to be Jews in our street, the family name was Grimbaum. They had three boys with whom we were normally friends, everything was fine. As soon as the Germans occupied us, and after they had to wear those yellow stars on their bodies, they started to stay away from us. They were very sad and it was hard for them. And then when they were taken to unknown places, well, only later did we find out that they had been taken to concentration camps, we were all very sad about it. Unfortunately, none of them came back after the war."

"And when March 1939 came, I recall it as if [it had happened] today. Wet snow was falling and suddenly it started. The Germans were streaming into our republic. We went into town to see what it was like. Well, there were already some ugly guys on motorcycles, Germans, in these grey uniforms and rubber coats, and they were looking at us like... I don't know, well, it was terrible. We were crying and we went home because Mum and Dad were worried about us. We were all sitting at home and waiting to see what would happen. What's going to happen next, what kind of horror is going to come."

"At that time I had a Scouts´ belt, I remember it now, and on it there was a buckle Czechoslovak Scouting, Be prepared! And they were in that infamous Hitler Youth and they used to walk around with knives - they had these black daggers with a swastika. And they cut off my badge. So I came home, holding pants, as they say, in my hand. I was crying, my mother and father were sad about it, and they were afraid that they would get into a trouble because of it. They feared that the Germans would take revenge on them, too, because I had had the Czechoslovak emblem on my belt."

"Because when the mobilization was announced, all men joined the army in no time - such a fast pace it was. I remember across the street from us was this, like I said, slaughterhouse, and there was a big courtyard. And the soldiers moved into that courtyard with such little cannons. And we, as boys, used to go among them. They were in a good mood, and they said, 'We're going to teach Hitler a lesson!' Well, unfortunately it turned out the way it did. They betrayed us, French and English, and we were left alone in the end. In the end we had to surrender to the Germans, which was a great disgrace, a lot of people wept for it. A lot of people paid with their lives. Those are sad, sad memories of that time, very sad."