Czechoslovak Political Prisoners - über das Projekt Political ...

Did you find out everything that your friend did and who was he working for?
He worked with the French. They were hiring people among the immigrants and he was
supposed to go to the legion or work in a company. His father was also in America, but it was
a stepfather and he never invited him. My friend was hoping he would, but he never did. So
he stayed in Germany and he worked for the French. He was coming to Czechoslovakia and
he always went back. In Slovakia they finally caught him. He had a trial with another group of
people in Slovakia because he formed two or three different groups, all together numbering
fifty people. I was sentenced alone and from Nitra they took me to Bratislava. At that time
there was some really hot weather and they put me in a Škoda car and I had to lie down. They
put some fur coats over me that guards wore in winter. After they took me out of the car I was
so sweaty that you can’t imagine it. They took me up a stairs on a spiral staircase and up there
I was put into a cell. I was completely exhausted and my head was buzzing and I lied down.
A guard opened the door for food and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Aren’t you feeling
well?” I didn’t answer. He opened the door completely, came to me and asked, “Would you like
to take a shower?” I said, “No, not really.” “Are you sure?” “Yes.” “Come and have a shower.”
He blinded me and we went up the steps, once down, then they spun me around.
I didn’t want to believe this because I didn’t have a good experience from Klatovy. There
it happened that a guard came to me and asked if I wanted to take a bath. After he walked
me there I didn’t want to believe it. It was a beautiful clean warm bathtub. It was joy. I took
my clothes off and it started moving me. Electricity! I fell out of the bath and the guard was
just laughing. He was looking at me through the observation hole in the door laughing, “So
what? Did you have a bath already?” I didn’t even wipe myself off, I got dressed, he blinded
me, and sent me blind across the corridor yelling, “Hey, I’m sending him to you.” I bumped into
something and it made a terrible commotion. I stepped on something and I fell over. There
were washbasins and buckets stored there. I bumped into it, threw it down on the concrete
and in a second someone was next to me and dragged me away. I never wanted to have a bath
again.
Anyways in Bratislava I was telling myself that this guard looked nice so I went to have
a shower, “Set the water as you like it.” I set the water, he gave me soap and a brush saying,
“Take it easy and shower. Wash yourself properly.” So I washed and I wiped myself. I came back
into the cell and he said, “Lay down I’m guarding until taps so you can sleep.” He asked me
if I was hungry and I said yes. He brought me coffee, but it was sweet coffee for soldiers and
a piece of bread. I ate it all and I fell asleep in a second. Do you know how I felt?! In the morning
I woke up. He was there again and told me, “You are leaving today, I’m transporting you
to Bohemia,” and I went back to Klatovy.
You came back to Klatovy again where you had such bad memories. Did something change
over there?
The food changed beyond recognition. There was lunch. The food was served through a small
little door and they would push your cup with soup towards you using their leg. We got one
cup, a second cup, and the guy was taking it away. All of a sudden I saw something like a can
and I just asked, “What is it?” We ate the soup and all of a sudden there was another meal,
some potatoes, some sauce, and a piece of meat. So I said, “Excuse me, but am I in Klatovy?”
My prison mate answered, “Yes, that’s the place.” I responded, “This food?” “Well friend,
we’ve had this food for about two weeks.” So I asked, “Why?” There was a new prisoner who
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