Ondřej Kohout

"One didn't even realize what it was. I was still a child only fifteen years old. We saw tanks, we saw Russians. We knew roughly what it was all about, but we still didn't realize the consequences. It was a bit of a dream that we only got out of in the years to come."

"It was already after the occupation in 1968, but in 1969 it was still possible to travel abroad. That's when I went to Munich with two friends my age for a part-time job. At that time, I think it was possible to exchange only fifteen marks for the entire stay, which we did, and we took a bus to Munich. In the summer of 1969. And we wandered there for about three days, until we found a job with an electrician in a construction company, and they found accommodation in a monastery. It was very interesting. In August, it was possible to watch the events that were taking place in Prague at that time. I remember talking to my father (Pavel Kohout) on phone after the repression in Prague, and I asked if I should come back to hear that intellectuals were being arrested. I was sixteen, so it sounded a little funny. He said I had to decide for myself, he left it to me. I decided to come back. One still hoped it would not be as terrible as it finally was. But my parents came to see my two friends and they stayed in Germany, so I came back alone."

"If a person went to university at the time and wanted to continue in his field, I would tell him that he probably has to arrange himself with the regime in some way - for example, by membership in cetrain organizations. Obey what they want. But if it contributes to the person's well-being…? His conscience wouldn't ease it, he would feel bad. The question is whether he would be satisfied with such a life. My recommendation would be to act the way I think I should act, no matter what I want politically. Then one can look into own eyes. I think that's the main thing that people missed then."