Vladimír Lorenz

“My destiny was to survive. I have passed trough a life enduring experience. In concentration camps I have learned to distinguish real values from rubbish. People showed their true colors. Many, who were considered as elite in civilian life, showed as absolute wretches. When they were left without help, they have changed to walking numbers. For example when they received a letter, they stroke their head against the wall. Briefly, their psychological abilities were not up to situation, despite they looked like characters in civilian life. Everybody could see there, who is who. Many people of this kind brought others into big troubles. Just slightly stronger physical pressure caused them to submit and talk. They have said everything and this was bad. What have helped you to keep resistance? I had one main idea: my cause is just, I will do anything no to be crushed by Germans. Such defiance can keep you going even in inhuman living conditions. It is all about state of mind. The worst thing is to be afraid. Fear increases how you perceive danger. Everybody should understand one thing: the death is not evil. The death is evil only in our minds. The death is part of life. We are borne to die. The question is what will be left behind us. Something positive should remain. People should not remember us as mugs. We should die in peace with clear conscience, despite it is very difficult of course.”

„Nobody could imagine the German thoroughness. For example they forced you to lie down with your face on the floor, turned a chair upside down, tied your legs to the chair, and then hammered your feet. I can confirm it was really ‘delightful.’ Our defense was to lose consciousness deliberately. If you lose consciousness, you feel nothing. We were trained to do it. You just had to breathe quickly and then suddenly stopped to cause a shock. This was the only way how to keep silence. You could not speak in black out. Therefore they kept trying to hold us conscious; they used even electricity for this purpose. It is the question of strong heart, because the hart attack could be the consequence. Luckily I was a sportsman so my heart was in a good shape. We followed one principle: ‘never unsay what you have said.’ The moment you had slackened your resistance they tore you to shreds. Otherwise they were torturing you only until they realized you won’t brake down. Of course it was not easy to sustain and muster physical and psychological pressure.”

„Round the fortress of Terezin lie morasses. There I have experienced all sorts of shocks. Among ss-guards were non Germans as well – Croatians, Serbians etc. For example there was one ss-man nicknamed Marehead. He came from Sudetenland and he hated especially Jews. With delight he chose two Jews and let them fight for life in the morass. Small stream ran nearby the Terezin fortress, there they had to struggle. The winner, who killed the other one, actually he suffocated his opponent in the mud, was allowed to live. We had to watch the fight. From this point of view my arrival to the Terezin fortress meant one shock after another.”

„At the beginning of 1945 I had been tried in Nuremberg. This was the real touchstone for me. I was charged with preparing treason and hiding weapons. For treason ran the death sentence by hanging and for hiding weapons ran the death sentence by decapitation. I was sentenced to both. They hanged you first and then decapitated indeed. After the trial 100 days long period had started before the execution. During those days your lawyer made suit for a pardon directly at Hitler. Thank God, things didn’t go so far. An airstrike destroyed the prison, so I had to spend there only 77 days. But anyway, every morning in time of breakfast I was told how many days remained left to execution. The worst think was I was handcuffed and in a solitary confinement. The only way how not to go mad was activity of any kind. I had been creating pieces from bread. It was necessary to turn the waiting into some activity to forget what was coming next. Psychological distress was immense, but you had to believe in one thing: ‘I will not give them joy to be hanged and decapitated’. This defiance to punishment enabled you to stay in resistance mood. This was the only chance.”