"Women and kids had been taken to the crematorium located in Olomouc, Neřetín, where they were burned twice. Not only I managed to obtain information on how much the cremation itself cost, but also, I managed to find out from where that money had come. The OBZ (the Defence Intelligence) received extra money just for it - the rubles they found in a pond somewhere near Karlovy Vary. They converted that money into crowns, and this sum was given to the local crematorium.“
"They burned those women and kids as the non-communist members of parliament and the world society demanded an examination of the whole case at the time. To hide the fact that women and children were also present, that's why they burned them all - not only once but twice. So it was thorough indeed. And then, they placed them in Sector 23, grave no. 191, which I discovered in the archive later. We found it with the help of a metal detector.“
„That, on the one hand, had resulted in a severe undermining of my health. It is essential to highlight here that the poor survivors learnt about the terrible way they relatives had ended. I thought so many times that they did not even have to find out. Nevertheless, it was necessary to openly say what it was like - to prevent this from happening again in the future. That's the thing I have always tried in our country, Slovakia, to promote, and in Germany and Poland too - to be real people.“
"Nearly two years later, the principal of the grammar school, named František Sedláček, said: 'Franta, just tell it to our boss finally. Do you know what he is going to do after he finds out you have a doctorate?' I could have used the title. However, I was telling myself that I did not need it. I eventually told him. It ended up with the director running out to the toilet, never coming back. I left as well then. He forbade me to publish, to give lectures, and I also had to break down all of my activity into my employment record book, hour by hour. It was unreal."
František Hýbl was born on June 10, 1941, in Citov, located in the Přerov region. His father was a leading teacher. After graduating from high school, he attended Czech and history classes at the Pedagogical Institute in Olomouc. He received a doctorate title in Bratislava. Between 1964 and 1969, František taught at the local primary schools in Olomouc and Litovel. Since 1969, he had worked at the National History Institue of Muy Comenius in Přerov, and became its director in 1992. Since the 1960s, he has been collecting information regarding the murder of 267 Carpathian Germans, Hungarians, and Slovaks, an event that happened in June 1945. Members of the 17th Infantry Regiment of Petržalka, lead by the lieutenant of the Defence Intelligence named Karol Pazúr, shot women and kids alike at the Švédská šance hill. His first book about this incident was published in the 1990s. He also contributed to the revelation of ashes of nearly 150 women and kids that were killed. For the disclosure of circumstances regarding the post-war mass murder, he was awarded the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany. He lives in Olomouc and Brodek near Přerov.
František Hýbl (the third on the left) showing a school class exposition during the communist era / Petr Pithart is the first on the left / 1992, Přerov
František Hýbl (the third on the left) showing a school class exposition during the communist era / Petr Pithart is the first on the left / 1992, Přerov
František Hýbl (on the left) showing a school exposition from the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire / the former Minister of Culture Pavel Dostál stands in the middle / the 1990s
František Hýbl (on the left) showing a school exposition from the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire / the former Minister of Culture Pavel Dostál stands in the middle / the 1990s
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!
