“But what they did to us. We were already in quarantine, and we were in nightgowns, we had flannel nightgowns, we called it ´boženky´. And now we were suddenly called on board. There was always a gathering in the morning when we went to work, in the afternoon when we left work, and in the evening before the convenience store. And they drove us out, it was terribly cold and we thought, because we were sick that we were just going to gather. So we went in the nighties, we wore shoes with bare feet and we took coats. And we went to the onset. There they gave us shovels and pickaxes and drove us, dressed poorly and sick, to dig the beets. So we had to go hoe the beets under those conditions. Several girls fainted there, and a few were sick. I didn't, I was tough, healthy, so I survived. But other girls had big problems there.”
“When I got into jail and I heard all the prisoners being beaten, beaten severely, broken their bones and legs, and everything else… . And the lady I was there with and was as old as my mother was so terribly beaten here that she was crazy. She was taken to Cernovice, she was from Brno. There she was in an illegal group, part of the illegal group fled, some were caught, she was one of them. The illegal group wanted to get her out of there. They sent an agent to kidnap her from the madhouse, which he did. They got into an apartment, but were caught again. Executed him, gave her a proposal for the death penalty, but then turned it into a life sentence and then gave her twenty-five years, I do not remember exactly. Her name was Františka Holková. ”
“We were arrested, but I was never afraid of anything. Never. I didn't collapse, I just couldn't do anything about it. Of course, I feared for my husband and all. I heard what was going on in prisons, how people got beaten up, but since the year it changed with Stalin, it was forbidden to beat and abuse people. So neither my husband nor I got beaten. But they treated us terribly. The interrogations were difficult, threatening, being dirty, insulting, in any way, abominable. I got nervous shock during one interrogation and my hands twisted. When I saw it, I started screaming that I was completely crippled by what they did to me!”
“My husband has been unhappy in Canada for five years. He just couldn't get used to it. I get used to everything, I don't mind, but he took it hardly. But we were lucky, we got a six-month English language course, and then we got recommendations to work in an insurance company, where they were hiring people. The Immigration Office and the insurance company agreed to accept Czech refugees if they passed English exams. I knew only a little, but the tests were such that they finally accepted us all. When I got there, I stayed until retirement. I was thirty-eight and I was there until I was sixty when I retired.”
"As far as I can remember, we attended one of those discussions and he said, 'I was a Communist, just like all of you here." There was a strong reaction in the audience, as people were standing up and almost booing him. So, we were not communists, we did not work for them. And he tells us that we are like him. He was a commie, though he had escaped, now he's fine, owns a publishing house, he knows his ways around, but we're definitely not like him. Around the prisoners he wasn't successful.”
“They never let us go anywhere. We were excluded as political prisoners. In 1968, we were first allowed to visit Bulgaria, where we spent August 21. We did not return, because as people fled, we left Bulgaria for Vienna, and the people who came there warned us not to return. Brezhnev said that it is no problem to send a million Czechs to Siberia when they resist, and bring a million Russians here. So we were wondering who would have gone first to that Siberia if this were to happen? Political prisoners. So we decided not to come back.”
Marie Stiborová, nee Slouková, was born on 26 May 1932 in Olomouc to a family of Ludmila and František Slouka. They had four children; father made living for the family as a retailer. Using the rented land, where he grew fruits and vegetables and then sold them. They survived the war in Olomouc without suffering much damages. In 1948 a difficult period came, when the father died as a result of a car accident. The family suffered financially and at the age of sixteen, the witness had to go to work at the dry cleaners. In 1952 she married Ivan Stibor, moved to Prague with him and decided to follow his plan to emigrate. In 1955 their plan was betrayed by their accomplices and the spouses were sentenced to unconditional punishment. Marie Stiborová spent five years in a labor camp in Želiezovce and Pardubice prison, her husband worked half his sentence doing hard labour in the mines of Jáchymov and after five years he was released during amnesty. Thus, in 1960, both spouses began again from scratch with a brand of political prisoners under the control of the state police. In 1968, they first travelled abroad. In Bulgaria, they were caught by the Warsaw Pact invasion. They immediately decided to emigrate. In the autumn of that year they were granted asylum in Canada. They lived there until 2001, when they finally decided to return to Bohemia. Marie Stiborová passed away on June, the 24th, 2022.
Marie and her mother Ludmila, Niagara Falls, Canada, 1980s. After some time Mary's mother was allowed to visit her daughter in Canada. The regime allowed such visits mainly to pensioners.
Marie and her mother Ludmila, Niagara Falls, Canada, 1980s. After some time Mary's mother was allowed to visit her daughter in Canada. The regime allowed such visits mainly to pensioners.
The Stibors in Prague in 1992. In the 1990s, the Stibor stayed alternately in Canada and the Czech Republic. In 1992, they bought a new apartment in the Barrandov housing estate in Prague. Mrs. Stiborová lives here to this day.
The Stibors in Prague in 1992. In the 1990s, the Stibor stayed alternately in Canada and the Czech Republic. In 1992, they bought a new apartment in the Barrandov housing estate in Prague. Mrs. Stiborová lives here to this day.
Stibor's wedding in the Old Town Hall in Prague on May 5, 1952. To her left is Mary's brother Rostislav (with a broken thumb). His sisters did not want to let him go to the wedding, so he voluntarily caused this minor injury.
Stibor's wedding in the Old Town Hall in Prague on May 5, 1952. To her left is Mary's brother Rostislav (with a broken thumb). His sisters did not want to let him go to the wedding, so he voluntarily caused this minor injury.
Marie, Gottwaldov (Zlín), 1950 (18 years). At that time she worked in Gottwaldov, today's Zlín. The photo studio owner exhibited it in a shop window and Maria's face promoted the photographer's services for several months.
Marie, Gottwaldov (Zlín), 1950 (18 years). At that time she worked in Gottwaldov, today's Zlín. The photo studio owner exhibited it in a shop window and Maria's face promoted the photographer's services for several months.
Ivan, Prague, 1954 (30 years). At that time, she worked with Maria in the state-owned company Ignis. She as a secretary and he as a designer. In this enterprise was also arrested on March 9, 1955.
Ivan, Prague, 1954 (30 years). At that time, she worked with Maria in the state-owned company Ignis. She as a secretary and he as a designer. In this enterprise was also arrested on March 9, 1955.
