"Never give up, even when things don’t go as planned, as they sometimes won’t. When you’re trudging uphill on what seems like an endless climb, when funds are low and debts are high, and you want to smile but have to sigh. When worry and care weigh you down, rest if you must, but never quit. Success may be near, even if it feels far away; persevere in the fight, especially when the blows hit hardest. Hana, the world is flawed and needs good people. You will be an honest and decent woman and a blessing to the world. Please, write to me,” Captain Barney.
"I can see them coming down Volsovská street to the square in those tanks, yeah, so... I just have these nice memories. And those memories, the not-so-nice ones, I don't let them get to me."
Hana Cihlářová, née Maršátová, was born on 16 February 1934 in Sušice. Her father Josef was a trained electrician and worked at power plants. Her mother Hana worked as a saleswoman in the Elektro shop and in Kovomat. In May 1945 she experienced the liberation of Sušice by the soldiers of the American army and she still remembers their short stay in the town fondly. Hana graduated from the high school in Sušice and became an educator. In 1952 she married Tomáš Cihlář. She and her husband worked in schools in the surrounding villages - in Kadešice, Nezamyslice and Volšov. They were not allowed to work directly in Sušice because the sister-in-law married in the United States. Eventually, they went to work at the open-air school in nearby Nuzerovo. Since 2017, she has lived in a retirement home in Sušice. Hana Cihlářová died in 2020.
Hana Cihlářová, photographed during the recording of the memoir on 9.5.2019 by pupils of the Masarykova Primary School in Sušice as part of Stories of our neighbours
Hana Cihlářová, photographed during the recording of the memoir on 9.5.2019 by pupils of the Masarykova Primary School in Sušice as part of Stories of our neighbours
Hrdinové 20. století odcházejí. Nesmíme zapomenout. Dokumentujeme a vyprávíme jejich příběhy. Záleží vám na odkazu minulých generací, na občanských postojích, demokracii a vzdělávání? Pomozte nám!
