Milada Sovová

“Near us between Turovac and Planá there was a prison camp. There were maybe eleven wooden barracks there. They brought young people there who were supposed to go work in factories in Germany, but when they rejected the offer or tried to flee, they were sent to this prison camp as punishment. They drove through Turovec to Chýnov to a quarry where they were supposed to work in a lime works. Others worked in the forest where they cut down trees. In the evening they shuttled them back to the prison camp through Turovec. Us kids, who lived right next to each other in Turovec, carried bread and apples around with us in our pockets. When they were riding in the truck to the prison camp, we could see that the driver blinked his lights to let us know we could toss them the bread. We threw it to them and they caught it. There were armed guards with them, but when they were the good ones, they just nodded in approval.”

“I went to work really early in the morning to the barracks, I crossed the street toward the lyceum toward Jordán. There was one tank after the other driving there, all the way to the barracks. I went towards them and they told me that I couldn’t go any further, that it was already full of soldiers, and to go home. So I went home and woke my husband up so he’d get the barracks fast, that the Soviets were here. Then, three days later, they came back. They just ordered us to stay inside, but, so we wouldn’t be afraid, they would have to stay with us in the barracks. Five days later they came back to check on us and then they went back again. The Soviets were all over the place, inside and out, but they say that nothing else happened. Then they left Tábor.”