„We heard them flying so we took various places, there were villas with open roofs, so we took those over as we didn’t have to go home and took a leader (to climb – editor´s note), so we were on several roofs. There were several of us and had enough bullets. Quite enough of those. So we always, when we heard them, we were ready (and an airplane – editor´s note) we saw them, so we began shooting. We were balancing like that for several months.“
„I had the advantage, that the French, who were there, were throwing guns and bullets and everything and they went home as they didn´t know what was going on. Our boys were collecting it to me and I was shooting it. Every fifth gun shot well as where I aimed, it fell down.“
„Germans took over Moravia and Bohemia, Slovaks were independant and said: ‚Get out, Czechs.‘ The builders had a colleague in Bratislava, so he went to him and brought the papers allowing us to go to Yugoslavia. So we got to Slovakia and through Hungary all the way to to Yugoslavia.“
„Jeli jsme přes Maďarsko do Jugoslávie a z Jugoslávie jsme jeli přes Řecko, Turecko a Egypt. V Turecku jsme se nalodili na loď, tam jsme čekali asi, já nevím, Turecko. Hlavní město. [Istanbul?] Ne, ne. [Ankara?] Ankara, hlavní město Ankara. Tam jsme čekali asi tři dny na vlak (do Bejrútu – pozn. aut.). To byla francouzská kolonie a tam jsme čekali na loď do Francie.“
„Then we sailed back to France in 1944 and fought for a part of land (territory – editor´s note), as we were only around 11 000 soldiers from Czechoslovakia, so we fought for certain territories. Now I don’t remember, if it was in France or Belgium. Until the end of war.“
Emil Kočnár, a retired lieutenant colonel, was born on 22nd November, 1916 in Černotín near Přerov. Dad worked at the railway and mum took care of their household. The witness finished elementary school and continued to the State Engineering School in Přerov. After graduating he left to work in Slovak town of Brezno nad Hronom. After establishing the Slovak state he decided to leave using the Balkan path via Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey towards the Middle East. Here he joined the French foreign legion and from Beirut through Egypt and Northern Africa he sailed to South French harbour of Marseille, where he was presented on May 13, 1940 as a member of the 1st Czechoslovak division in France. In May 1940 he participated in the defence of France and after its fall he sailed to Gibraltar and the Biscay bay to the English Liverpool. He got to Cholmondeley Park and guarded the coast of England against the Nazi air force. He learnt English and served also as a translator of the Czech mission in England. They placed him to the 1st Czechoslovak independent armoured brigade, participated in the training in Scotland and after the Normandy landings in the second line of invasion in 1944-1945 he took part in Dunkerque siege. Here he served in a staff platoon (brigade of heavy works). After ending the war he served in the town of Běšiny near Pilsen, where he met his future wife, Věra Boudová. Emil Kočnár demobilized in 1947 and he left to Hliniště near Strážný in Šumava, where he worked as a chief at a saw mill. After retiring he moved to Klatovy, where he lived until his death on 11th April, 2015.
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