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5: CASE STUDY 2: THE CZECH/AUSTRIAN BORDER
his wife shows us some pictures from the family album of their first years
in the house. “About half of the vehicles used by the army were Russian
whilst half were Czech”, he explains. “Our car was Russian” he continues
and points to a picture with the family gathered around a car. I cannot tell
much about the car as it is mostly hidden behind people posing on and
around it, children as well as adults, but it is clear from the people that
this was not a car to be ashamed of.
“It was important for me as an officer to keep on a good footing with the
soldiers. Everything worked much more efficient if there was a friendly
atmosphere”. He thinks back and starts laughing a bit to himself “Have you
seen all the pools around here” I nod as I have seen the many natural pools
in the area and he carries on “sometimes when they were out on their
patrols they stopped to have a swim. They thought we didn’t notice”. It all
sounds more like a holiday camp then the army. Almost as if he can read
my thoughts he flicks in “Of course it was all serious business but I think
compared to other jobs in the army, a border guard had a fairly easy time”.
He emphasises the fun that was had by the boys and maybe these are the
memories he has taken with him.
He explains how the place looked very different then when 50 soldiers
were staying at the Šafov station as well as several guard dogs. Many of the
soldiers were scared of the dogs but of course they were trained to attack.
There were even pigs kept in the yard which were used for food. “Now the
place is falling apart”. There is no nostalgia or regret within this sentence
but merely a statement.
I try to put a few more questions forward but he seems to have lost
interest. Instead he shows me some photos of the time all taken at the
training facilities in Jemnice. “We were not allowed to take any pictures at
the actual border or at the stations. No cameras were allowed.” I am allowed
to photograph some of his pictures however, and he explains them as I go
along. There are pictures of him posing with a small group of soldiers, then
one picture with a larger group of soldiers posing in front of a barbed wire
fence. Some of the soldiers are holding long poles with double hooks at the
end, he explains: “For clearing the fences”. I ask about a picture of a boy in
uniform posing with a dog and the wife answers that this was one of the
soldiers that were originally from Slovakia. They do not know anything else
about him. There are also pictures of the officer and the soldiers being
instructed in how to dismantle the fences (Figure 97). “The beginning of the
end” he says and laughs. This is also the end to our interview and l
understand that although he does not so much mind sharing information
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