Renata Möcklová

* 1944

  • "We came back in 1950 and I started school. I still had language problems in school because our teacher hated Germans. She really did. There were other nationals as well and it was almost the same for all of us, yet for Germans it was the worst. I know I didn't understand something she said to me, so she slapped me and I fell all the way and hit the blackboard. I'll never forget that. It forced me to learn Czech quickly, though. I learned Czech and then I learned very well, I guess, given the circumstances."

  • "My grandfather and his son who was sixteen or seventeen at the time had to go to work in a deep mine in Kladno. First of all, they had to walk from Hole in the morning - there was no bus. I know they walked there, worked all day, and then they had to walk back again in the evening, and again the next morning. I know they were very thin and in poor health. My grandpa got sick from exhaustion and spent a long time in hospital. My uncle was so young and had to work so hard, and I know he wasn't in good health either. But they both survived."

  • "As far as I can remember, they took us in a truck, just me and my mother. I don't know what went on because my mother was deeply traumatised by it and never wanted to tell me. All I know is we were separated somehow. My mother and I ended up with a farmer in Hostivice and the rest of the family lived in Hole. We didn't visit each other much because food was all we got from the farmers for our work. My mother had to take care of the cows; they had a cowshed and fields. I had to get up early in the morning with her. They gave one room to both of us; I remember it was poorly furnished. I'd have to go with her in the morning, and when she'd fed the cows and milked them, we'd go out into the fields. I had to go with my mother again so I wouldn't be alone. She didn't want to leave me alone."

  • Celé nahrávky
  • 1

    Karlovy Vary, 14.05.2023

    (audio)
    délka: 02:04:00
Celé nahrávky jsou k dispozici pouze pro přihlášené uživatele.

The teacher hated Germans. She slapped me so hard I hit the blackboard

Renata Möckl in Chodov, 1971
Renata Möckl in Chodov, 1971
zdroj: Archive of a memorialist

Renata Möcklová was born in Staré Sedlo near Sokolov on 27 April 1944. Her father died on the Eastern Front before she was born. During and after the war, the family experienced hardships and food shortage. They were separated and displaced to different locations in East and West Germany and inland Bohemia in 1948. Those who stayed in Bohemia had to work hard for meagre shelter and food. Since Renata Möcklová was of German descent and did not understand Czech, she experienced violence and many hardships. Both the children and the teacher would beat her at school. They did not begin to treat her better until she learned some Czech. She graduated from medical school and worked as a nurse all her life. She married a Sudeten German, Herbert Möckl, who had similarly tough childhood background. After the August 1968 occupation, they considered leaving the country. They eventually stayed in Bohemia out of respect for their elderly parents who did not want to move anywhere. Her husband joined the Communist Party in the 1980s, hoping to ensure that their children have less difficult a start in life than they had. Relatives from West Germany supported them and would occasionally visit them in Czechoslovakia. It was only after the Velvet Revolution that the witness was able to really get in touch with them and take care of them now that they were old and ill. At the time of the interview in 2023, Renata Möckelová was living in Ostrov nad Ohří. Her memories were recorded and processed thanks to the financial support of the Karlovy Vary Region.