“The food here was really perfect because they were interested in the performance, and when they wanted the performance… When initially ignorant officers wanted to gust at us and made one or two night alarms, the next day they had to stop. Because the guys came drowsy and one can't afford the mine in such a state. Štajgr said: 'Mr. Commander...!' He swept the commander down to the ground, what they dared to do. The star above the mine stopped shining and that was bad. So again it was an advantage for us that they could not bother us too much, and they had to give us enough food, and some time off.” - “There was a star above the mine?” - “And when it didn't shine, the leader said: 'The bonus is nowhere. Gentlemen, you have to arrange it somehow! So we couldn't be too bothered. He sometimes got mad at some commander and made a stoat. So the boys cried there when they had to march around. But he couldn't do it for too long, because it wasn't possible.” - “And the star, was that a signal of work in progress?” - As soon as the plan was not fulfilled, it went out. And they've already closed the pipelines of money.”
“It was the night of 14th to 15th (April), because we had boarding at the Brno railway station at midnight. I took the night train to Brno and there we were meeting with the boys, and the PTP member from Slavkov were already there. We met at that station and said, 'We're going to Komárno. So it is clear, that we will build pontoons there and so on.´ What do they call the guys making pontoons and bridges? So we arrived to Komárno at six o'clock in the morning. They brought cars, drove us to the barracks. Well the barracks; suddenly we saw a huge encampment, and that was the former Komárno fortress with cassettes and everything. There we joined the first receiver. The first thing they did to us was: 'Sit down. Rag around the neck and done. And we were already suspicious. Well, we thought, 'To debug us that way? All right.' Now was the arrival of the commander, and he explained to us: 'So you know who you are, you are a bunch of murderers and all sorts of criminals, and we'll be retraining you now.' They started at us this way so we knew what was going on. Fortunately, the lieutenants weren't very educated. These were mostly from Vihorlat, the eastern side, lots of sheep around and so on. We had to accept that, otherwise it was impossible. We got our uniforms on and on. Some of them were still red from those of previous users. They haven't given us proper suits yet, they've only given us summer uniforms, so far, and what we had as working ones were trophic uniforms of the Germans and Hungarians and so on, still stained with blood.”
“The front was approaching. On April 15, it was declared that there was a ban on staying outside. So from April 15th to 26th, because on April 26th we were liberated in both Slavkov and Brno, all the time we had to stay down in the cellar. Father put beams there in case it collapsed to keep the entry open. We had to secure it in terms of security and we had baked all sorts of gingerbreads and long-lasting fruit, long-lasting pastries. And we were in danger as they started to attack Brno, Slavkov, so they flew, because there was a sugar factory near the station, but it was outside the city. We watched as the aircrafts flying and bombing over the airport. At noon I said to my mother, 'I'll have something to eat.' I barely came to the kitchen, whack! In the middle of the barn, a bomb from one plane landed. They were bombing there, behind us, behind the threshing, were anti-aircraft canoons in the park. So they didn't hit it, but hit our house in the middle. Now it was smoldering, I thought it would start burning. The dust left on the beams whirled up and only smoked a little, not burning. I saved myself by going to have lunch, otherwise I watched it from the walnut before the threshing-floor.”
František Možný was born on 23 April 1930 in Slavkov near Brno. Since childhood, his parents have passed catholic faith on to him, which has accompanied him throughout his life. He grew up during war that also hit Slavkov at the end. After the war he graduated from the Business Academy in Brno. At that time he was engaged in the youth of the Czechoslovak Folks Party and also trained in the Catholic physical education organization Orel. However, this ended when the communists came to power in 1948. After graduation, the witness worked as an accountant in Building Construction Brno, but in two years he received a call to work. In May 1951 he joined the Auxiliary Technical Battalions (PTP), because the communists considered him politically unreliable. For the first eight months he alternated different workplaces before moving him to IV. PTP Orlová, where he worked for two years in the Ludvík mine in Ostrava-Radvanice. When he was released from civilian labor, he returned to his previous job. In 1966 he transferred to Industrial Engineering, General Directorate in Brno and studied at the University of Economics in Prague. He also lived his catholic faith, to which he also participated in a pilgrimage to Velehrad in 1985. After 1990, he actively joined the Czechoslovak People‘s Party and held the position of representative of the Brno-sever district for eight years. He joined the PTP Association and since 2001 he has been actively involved in its organization in various positions.
František Možný at the meeting of the Regional Committee and the chairmen of the territorial organizations of the Moravian - Silesian Union VTNP - PTP in Brno in 2005.
František Možný at the meeting of the Regional Committee and the chairmen of the territorial organizations of the Moravian - Silesian Union VTNP - PTP in Brno in 2005.
