Vladimír Hanzel

“When the political trials were taking place and the radio presenter was saying of someone that they had betrayed the nation, disappointed us, and so on, Mum would protest: ‘But we know him, and he’s a decent person!’ And Dad just went: ‘Psst! Don’t speak about it in front of the children.’ And they switched to German or Yiddish, so we wouldn’t understand them.”

“During maths class one of my classmates hissed at me to give her the Beatles records I’d borrowed. With a heavy heart I pulled them out of my satchel and passed them to her. Teacher Dlouhý noticed it, ran up to us, took the record and said: ‘Confiscated, will be returned at the end of the school year.’ I was aghast. I thought I couldn’t do that to Lenka. During the break I plodded despondently to the maths office, thinking: ‘I have to soften him up somehow, explain that the records aren’t mine but Lenka’s, that her Dad brought them to her from Paris, that it’s a terribly awkward matter for me.’ I was preparing my speech, and on my way to the office I heard familiar sounds. When I came closer, I found out that the teacher was sitting there with a gramophone player, listening to the records. I knocked, he started a bit and looked at me guiltily. I bleated out a part of what I had ready, but he stopped me and said: ‘Can I keep them till tomorrow?’”