“I had a small son and took him with me in my hands and baby warmers and off we were with a pram. There were partisans in the forest, so I told myself I could go there easily. So I went to our butcher and he gave me some leftovers I put to my son´s bag and took the lower path, as the Germans were about to shoot from Flak. They also shot into the forest to the side, where the partisans were. They knew it well as we have them a prior notice.”
Delivered messages, distributed leaflets and hid partisans
Karla Šimková, née Šmídová, was born on 10 October, 1920 in Čunín in the Prostějov region. Her native house was and still stands at the end of the village bordering the forest. Together with her husband, Arnošt Šimek, they were hiding partisans during WW2 from the group Jermak-Porošin and from partisan group led by Josef Novák. Karla Šimková functioned also as a connection between partisan groups and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets biking throughout the region. After war she moved to Javorník with her husband and in Jesenice hospital she worked as a nurse until retirement. In 1976 she returned to Čunín, where she also lives in 2016.