Pavel Jirásek

"There was a special relationship between the students of Norwegian language, who were not so many, and the people who came here from Norway. Because the Czech students didn't have much opportunity to practice the language. Except when they got to go on the trip. There was no Norwegian lecturer. And so, they got together and formed some relationships that last to this day."

"When they came to me later, when I was about twenty-five, to join the party, at first you pretended you were stupid and told them you didn't feel up to it, that you had some other problems, that you had to solve them first to delay it. Then it hit me that this was complete bullshit. I went to the head of the union at the time and said: 'Look, I don't agree with the Communist Party's policy and I will never agree with people like Biľak and co. I won’t join the Party.' And what? It was the year eighty-six and they didn't tear my head off, nothing happened to me. I could have continued to work in the ČKD, no big win."

"For me, communism ended completely on 21 August 1968. We formed such a definite opinion, even that group of little children, that I never got over it. I never – I don't want to say came to terms with it, I never wanted to came to terms with it – I never changed my mind about it. That opinion that I had when I was eight years old still sticks with me to this day. I grew up listening to the Voice of America and Free Europe, and other people watched some Dietl, but I preferred to listen to this ‘seditious’ broadcast."