“She, the mother, probably arranged it somehow that some people came for her [Libuška] and took her as their own. So, I was not allowed to even meet her because they were afraid that I will take her back. Then I went to the children's home – that I would draw her to me and not let her go anymore. Then I went behind the fence and called her all the time: ‘Libuška, Libuška.’ And she, you know, she was five years old, such girl played there and I was crying behind the fence. Everything is so sad.”
„And she [mother – S. Pospíšilová] caught me and threw me out. It was on the All-Souls’ Day. She threw me out, not to the toilet but out. I did not have anything on as I had gotten undressed. I was afraid. There was a woodshed so I hid behind it and cried there. Do you think she came for me? Not at all! From far they were visible, there was a cemetery and there were candles glowing and I was afraid that the souls will come for me. I was afraid of those ghosts. So, I cried there. Near the place where the house was, there was a garden and, in the garden, there was another small house where some lady lived. She heard me crying and came for me. So, I spent the whole night at her place. She [mother – S. Pospíšilová] did not look for me at all, nothing, I did not matter to her at all. If the lady did not hear me, I would probably freeze there.”
“The Americans came to our house. They threw us out and we had to sleep at somebody’s else. I had this small puppet theatre and I wanted to take it with me. I worried for it that they will break it. They told me to leave it there that nothing will happen to it. I do not know how long it was but when we came back to the flat, it was something terrible. They were probably sleeping there with their shoes on, we even had to leave the duvets there. I had a small wooden bed with rungs and they larded it with cartridges. Later, when I lay in the small bed, I always circled a cartridge with my finger. I liked it so much. On the ceiling where there was the light, there were three holes fired from a rifle. Otherwise, it was something terrible. It was so dirty that my mom cried, it was something dreadful.”
“My mom always hid me. Always when some car came in front of the entrance, she hid me in the cellar. She found out I had to go the Czechoslovakia. Once we were sitting just like this and I had little braids and she brushed my hair and started to tell me that I have a mother somewhere in Czechoslovakia and that I have to go to her. We both started to cry. I did not even know that something like a Czechoslovakia exists. So, she always told me not to worry and she hid me all the time. Every time some car arrived, she… She knew she will lose me. But she was afraid so she hid me. Until once a car arrived, I was playing out and they took me and drove me away.”
“And now it was only one stop before Nuremberg. And now some gentleman walked through the train and I heard all the time: ‘Lia, Lia.’ And I though, well that is me, but what if he is looking for someone else. He still called: ‘Lia, Lia.’ He walked past me and I thought well then it is here, they want to steal Jana from me. I had the jitters that I am going to see the mom. And now moreover with Jana, I thought it is here, they want to steal her from me. So, I gripped her and the gentleman left and we got off. I was completely jittery, so excited by the eagerness that I will see her, I cannot even… I put Jana down on one of these steps, now the bag and I looked around and right in front of me stood my mom. I would not recognize her but I had a photo of her. I was taken aback [...] I saw her, I was completely… it is impossible to say. I hugged her I was not able to speak. I was completely in shock. It was a shock but I still held Jana. Now all of a sudden, the gentleman came to me and said: ‘Lia’ … he spoke – and it turned out he was my cousin. He came for me and moreover with Mr. Rybka [...].“
Julie Klačková, née Pospíšilová, was born on 28th February 1941 in Delmenhorst, a German city near Bremen. Her Czech mother Sylvie Pospíšilová who was totally deployed in Germany refused to raise her daughter and four months after she was born, she entrusted her to foster parents Gertruda and Theodor Kutz. The married couple adopted her as their own and gave her the name Lia. The witness was raised in Germany and at the end of the World War II she experienced the expulsion from the house by US forces. In May 1950 the witness was kidnapped after few unsuccessful attempts by a repatriation bureau and transported to her blood mother in Czechoslovakia. The witness lived with her mother and her husband in Bohumín near Ostrava where she found out she has a younger sister called Libuška. The Czech mother still refused Julie and treated her heartlessly. After eight months the witness and her sister were transported by their mother to their father Adolf Dvořák who lived in Frýdek. Nor Adolf showed an interest in his daughters and Libuška was sent to a foster family. The witness was not allowed to contact her at all. After few days Pavlína Pánková, the sister of Adolf’s wife to-be, took charge of the witness. The woman suffered by serious health problems and soon after that she died. The witness ended up in a district children‘s home in Frýdek in 1951 where she lived until she was 14 years old. Then she was apprenticed in gardening and in 1958 she got married and moved to her husband who lived in Havlíčkův Brod in Vysočina. The unhappy marriage during which she gave birth to three daughters lasted only to 1963. After few unsuccessful attempts she established written contacts with Gertruda Kutz who she visited after long 14 years. Unfortunately, Theodor Kutz did not live to see the happy reunion, he died in March 1961 without knowing where Julie is. Because of the normalization, the second meeting of Julie and Gertruda took place in the end of 70s when Gertruda lived in Bremen. After Julie returned to Czechoslovakia the correspondence fell silent after some time and the witness lost the contact with Gertruda. Allegedly, she spent the rest of her life in the home for the elderly people, but the witness still does not know when and where Gertruda died. During the recording which took place in spring 2021, the witness lived in Heroltice near Jihlava. Julie Klačková died on 12th September 2021.
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!
