Boys as well as girls went to the army, so I went along
Emilie Marková was born in the village of Straklov in Volhynia in 1922. She comes from a family of Volhynian Czechs. Her grandparents came to Volhynia in the sixties of the 19. century. She attended a Polish school but Czech lessons were part of her education at this school. Her family had eight children in total, two of them died, however, shortly after their birth. Mrs. Emílie remembers the grave social situation of her family. In 1939 World War II started with a German surprise attack on unprepared Poland which shortly thereafter surrendered and was parceled between Germany and Russia. All of Volhynia was ceded to the Soviet Union again. In 1940 Mrs. Marková started to work in the office of the grain storehouse which received the requisite grain deliveries from the peasants. In 1941 the region was occupied by the Germans. After the liberation of the region by the Soviets, Mrs. Marková joined the 1st Czechoslovak army corps. She was assigned to the telephone company as an accountant. She was also charged with the management of the supply of the troops. She witnessed the heavy battles at Dukla where her brother fell. After the end of the war she stayed in Czechoslovakia.