Vlasta Macháčková

“You know, Sokol was something that was really uplifting for everyone. The feeling that you’ve got some kind of responsibility, that you have to be honest, fair, and yet humble. That was our upbringing, Tyrš and Masaryk, truth, truth, truth... and to be responsible not just for yourself, but also for others. The fact that we called each other sister and brother was very uplifting for us little ones. The others took it as a matter of course. I must make special mention of that 10th All-Sokol Rally. That was something spectacular! It was the year thirty-eight. Things were at boiling point. All over Europe. A raging Hitler was making fools of his nation. Until he completely fooled... stupefied... fanaticised them. Everything was hanging by a string, and we didn’t know whether it would take place until the very last moment. Even when we were already gathered at Strahov. It was really beautiful, but I can tell you we had goose bumps all through it. But that was an experience never to be repeated. We wanted to show we weren’t afraid, that we’d give them a fight, that we wouldn’t just let someone hurt us, our country. We were great patriots, that feeling of loving your country, loving your own country, your president, loving even your representatives, and respect everyone, honouring them, that was something amazing, and there and then we felt it the most, it was within us, we were charged, dynamic, I would say, all of us... all of us.”

“Two Gestapos came to me, one was a Czech, I call [that type] distorted... the other was a German... So I showed them into my room. And I say to myself, Vlasta, get a grip, keep your head, calm... just be calm. They said how come, if you got the application form, you got it three times, how come you didn’t join, you didn’t sign it. I said I hadn’t. That was this Czech... I called it a Czech Hitlerjugend. I said, well no, I didn’t join, I’m a Czech girl, I don’t understand it. Well, you were also active in Sokol. I said I had been. That was a normal organisation of ours, so why shouldn’t I have been. Yes but you were very active. I said, well, I was, like everyone else. Yes but you also organised things. I said, well, I organised training sessions. They were getting angry. Of course, they didn’t have any results yet. Yes but you also have a family. Well, I do, but we’re not in touch. Siblings? I said yeah, I had a sister, she died. And no brother? I said no. They looked at each other. But I was strong. Really, I was trying as hard as I could. They started all over again, all kinds of questions. As he turned the pages, there was a summary there, I saw it, and he had ‘politically dangerous’ written there in German. Well, and so the gentlemen took their leave. Poor Mum, she came running up, caught hold of me, we sat down side by side, we hugged and shivered, and I cried, and cried, and cried, and I couldn’t do anything at all. I broke down, you see.”