Jarmila Pipalová

“When we were little, there was no TV, so I remember that grandpa lit a sawdust stove, and the stove was heated with sawdust. We used to be fussing over him, used to help him and we would sit by the stove in the evening and grandpa would tell us various fairy tales, read books to us, and entertain us, and he made effort. At that time, I did not miss my father that much. I missed him at Christmas when the whole family met. And I forgot to say that when we had carp, we usually had mashed potatoes with it and when my dad was still free, he picked boletes. They were small porcini mushrooms and mum preserved them. And we would always eat them only at Christmas to remember dad. We would always open it and ate it with mashed potatoes and schnitzels.”

“When my dad was supposed to come back, I was an apprentice [in Zbrojovka factory in Uherský Brod]. I was about to go to an afternoon shift and mum came home earlier and she was suddenly completely different. And I asked her what had happened. And (she said) that nothing and that she would go to Hradiště. And (I said) I could see it. And (she repeated) that nothing was happening. And she kept denying it. And I said I would not go to work unless she told me what was going on. So, she told me that she was going to get dad. I told her: ‘I will go with you; I am not going to work.‘ Uncle, my godfather gave us a lift to Leopoldov. And I can tell you, it was horrible when they released him. When he walked out of the fortress, the gate, he was dressed in the same clothes as when they arrested him. He was wearing a corduroy jacket and knee breeches; he was shabby... He came out of the gate, and I ran. I ran to him. That was awful. I cannot even describe it. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life."