Milada Kozderková

"In fact we were always working as all the prisoners were released during amnesty. Havel (the president) ordered to release prisoners in jail's so in Boleslav we were preparing the papers at the financial department. Before we made it ready, it really took a long time as there were many people locked up! So we were at work day and night through."

"I remember when the Soviet soldiers came, there were a lot of rumours that they hurt people and rape women and all that and more. Well our boy was very small, he was about to go to school or so. He was playing in front of the house and suddenly three officers, Russian lieutenants, were passing by. And one of them left the crew and marched towards Jiří. – And I got as if stabbed, got immediately sick worried they would take him from us and we would have no child. Therefore I rushed out and he took him in his arms apologising: „You know I got a similar boy back home and he reminded me of mine terribly.“ He just loved looking at him and squeezed him hard. And from that moment on he kept visiting us bearing gifts to our boy."