Eva Kleinová, roz. Dekojová

“In important positions, such as in offices or banks, there was always a representative of the German Reich. Some of them were tolerant, some of them were very strict. But I don’t remember that there would be any remarkable conflicts. As for the national guests, the women and children who had been evicted from Germany and accommodated in the school building, they had some privileges, such as higher rations of food, and some of their children were very aggressive and they were shouting insults at us. Some older boys and sometimes even us who were of the same age were shouting back at them. But there were no extraordinary clashes, we were afraid of that. At home I would always hear: go out of their way, do not provoke them, we need to endure it. There was no Czech-German friendship among the children, their children had their classes in the school building, and we were going once a week to the local pub to pick up our assignments. If Czechs met in the street, everyone was looking around to see who was near and they were careful with whom and about what they were able to talk. Sometimes people would avoid us, me and my mom, and they would cross to the other side of the street as if they did not know us, although they were people who had communicated with us before. They were afraid for their families. But there were also other people who helped us and who talked to us.”

“War is cruel, that’s true. But wars have always originated because somebody wanted more than the other person had. Human desire for expansion knows no boundaries. Every war brings even far greater horrors, not only the war when soldiers battle on the front, but even the cold war which we experienced. People should get reasonable and not pursue material goods, but think more about themselves and think keep in mind that the war always destroys culture and the current standard of life.”