Otmar Kowar

"Yes, the Iron Curtain was part of our life. When you went somewhere to see relatives, for example, or when you met someone somewhere, or when you arrived somewhere and you were asked where you came from, the answer was: 'We come from the Iron Curtain, that's over there by the Iron Curtain.' I used to hear it a lot as a young boy, but actually, I didn't know what it meant until I asked about it. But it was the reality, it wasn't questioned in any way, it was a fixed part of everyday life for us, that a few kilometres behind our village there was a border with barbed wire. And one felt, or it was often said, that we lived at the end of the world. I also remember from childhood that it was often said that we had no background. When it came to road diversions, regulations or jobs, that phrase was often used. We have no background. I didn't understand that as a child, why? So it was. It was only later that one recognized what had been meant

"In 1990, when you first came to the Czech Republic, what differences did you see between the Czech Republic and Austria?" - "The most obvious difference was simply the way the villages looked. I would say that in our country villages were blooming at that time. Everything looked nice, the houses were nicely painted, they were tidy, there were flowers in front of them. When you crossed the border in those days, you suddenly felt like being in another world. For me personally it all looked so dreary, without bright colours."