Josef Lešinger

* 1930

  • “In Stupava, it was very tough. We were all swollen because there were many mosquitoes. Then they took us to Bratislava for the interrogation at the secret state police headquarters. We had no names as we were filed under numbers. You had to report by your number and when they were taking you somewhere, they would blindfold you and additionally they tried to confuse you by walking you through the corridors, several times constantly changing directions before they finally took you to the interrogator. The interrogations mostly took place at night. They wanted to know why I did what I did, who helped me in my attempt and those kinds of things. I told him that I wanted to visit my relatives in Vienna. He said that my offense was really not that serious, that I almost hadn't done anything. But later, at the final phase of the investigation, they sent me some documents that I was supposed to sign. The documents recorded my confessions and they read that I had planned my escape abroad in order to speak out in foreign broadcasting and to enter the foreign legion. Actually they weren't far from the truth but the point is that there was no way they could know that because no one had told them. He showed me the paper and said that it was all written down there and that I could go over it if I wanted. He added, however, that there was not much time left. So I signed it without even looking at it.”

  • “There was a business academy right next to my school and the boys from the academy used to distribute some leaflets. It was pretty usual to engage in this kind of activity at that time. There followed a number of trials. It was similar to what happened in Litomyšl. My former school mates had their trials in the Smetana house. It was a public trial. Most of them got terms. Those who hadn't reached maturity yet got to Zámrsk, those who were 18 or above were sent to jail.”

  • “I saw with my own eyes what they did to a guy who picked up a bone to chew on it a bit. There was no meat left on it anyway, it was all gone, but maybe there was still some flavor to it. They grabbed him and put him on the pillory. It was a very hot day in the summer and he had to be on direct sunlight all day long with a plate saying what he had done. Eventually, he fainted. I have no idea whether he then suffered life-long health problems because of his punishment. They also put a lot of people in the so-called 'correction'. That was simply a pit with a concrete floor where they left their victims for several days with no food.”

  • Interviewer: “When you didn't keep up with the required norms, you were handed out minimal food rations, right?” Interviewee: “When they let you work underground for two shifts, you had to work till ten o'clock in the evening. Then you had to wait till the inmates formed the rows, they filed and searched us. So we would get back to the camp at let's say midnight. The only thing that was left in the camp by then was black coffee. It was more like dirt or black water than proper coffee. So you could have this coffee but there was nothing left to eat.”

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    Česká Třebová, 10.05.2011

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When I saw what was going on, I felt like I had to escape Czechoslovakia and go to the West

Josef Lešinger as a member of the auxiliary technical squads (so-called PTP) in 1953
Josef Lešinger as a member of the auxiliary technical squads (so-called PTP) in 1953
zdroj: archiv pamětníka

Josef Lešinger was born in 1930 in Česká Třebová. After February 1948 (at age 18), he decided to flee to the West. He was arrested during his second attempt to leave Czechoslovak territory. In December 1951, the district court in Bratislava sentenced him to 14 months of hard labor in the Jáchymov uranium mines. Besides the Jáchymov mines, he worked in the Ležnice and Barbora labor camps. Shortly after his release from the camps (after he served his term), he was assigned to the auxiliary technical squads (so-called PTP) and worked another two years in the mines of Ostrava. After he was finally released into civilian life, he was constantly under oversight and was only allowed to work in workers‘ professions. On November 27, 1990, he was rehabilitated. He presently lives in Česká Třebová.