Blanka Včeláková

"There we waited half a year for the court. In June we had a show trial in Liberec held in the People's Park. As viewers, we had young militiamen coming in. The chairs were set up as in a theater. In front of us, there was a big board and lying on it was one rifle and a revolver. We were accused of planning the overthrow of the Republic. They pointed at these weapons. ‘How many of you were in this group?’ ‘Twenty-seven, but there were also members of the police in the group, they all had guns, but they could not be accounted for by the court. The trial lasted three days and I was sentenced to sixteen years of imprisonment. In that court, I said that I had been beaten and forced to make my testimony. I said that if they had said that I killed my father, I would have signed it. None of the guys – and they had been beaten - no one said it, just I said it, for those slaps. ‘Did they beat you?’ ‘Yes’. ‘Did they beat you?’ ‘Yes’. ‘Did they beat you?’ ‘Yes’. Take a note, they said to the secretary."

"There was hard work everywhere, that’s true. One was consoling the other and somehow we were united by our misfortune. We also sought humorous situations to be able to laugh a little. There was a lot of unhappiness. For instance, there was a needy mother in Pardubice who had two children and those children committed suicide, because they were bullied at school. So she lost her children. Or there was another case in Pardubice, she was Slovak and they came to announce to her as she was leaving the building: 'Well, last week we hanged your husband'. She immediately fainted."