Václav Harmáček

"They let us climb up their GAZ cars... The nicest thing for us was when a soldier suddenly got into the car, started it up and took us around Staňkov. That was the biggest reward, we all bragged about it: 'I rode in gas!' Anytime we could, we were mingling with the soldiers. Back then, parents didn't have to worry about us all all; if they were looking for us, they were sure to find us there."

"At that time, it was a huge column of all kinds of tanks, cars, trucks; some of them were pulling cannons behind them. Just a traffic jam that really lasted about two hours. It was a gift for me, because I actually received the liberation of Staňkov for my eighth birthday at the time. And an even bigger gift was the end of World War II two days later."

"I remember, for example, a single plane flyover. At that time, I was still in the backyard, yet it was already dark in the evening. Suddenly, the factory sirens announced the beginning of the air raid with a fluctuating tone, and we just ran to hide ourselves in covers most of the time. Shelters in the countryside at that time were mainly cellars. But I didn't go into that shelter at that time, because I already heard the roar of the planes, and one of the planes suddenly lit up – it seemed to me that as if a hot ball was floating in the sky. Only later did I learn that it was a plane that had the task of illuminating the future bombed area a little so that the pilots of the planes that carried the bombs could better orientate themselves. Unfortunately, it was one of the raids on the city of Pilsen, and at that time the plants were quite destroyed. The hot ball, I liked it, it shone nicely floating across the sky. Well, as a boy I was happy about it, but really it was the worst thing that could have happened."