Jana Müllerová

“My dad came to wake me up early in the morning and told me to get up. I thought that he was sick because he was white as a sheet. But he said: ‘Wake up, they beat one of the Wonkas to death, but I do not know which one.‘ I did not know which one was imprisoned at that moment, but I guessed it was Pavel. So, we were waiting, the news was on after five o´clock p.m., dad listened to London back then. They said that Pavel Wonda had died. I remember the moment, the horrible feelings of hopelessness and futility. Because Pavel was so… that they managed to break such a person… (he was so) rebellious. I would say that he was a strong, hefty young man. I know that I spent the whole morning crying but without tears. I did not have tears, but I know that I felt awful. Then I went to the funeral, and in the evening, I recorded the speeches of Professor Jüptnerová whom I later also became friends with, and of Stanislav Devátý and Václav Malý and I played it off the tape recorder and wrote a little bit, then turned it on again and wrote a little bit. That is how I transcribed those three speeches.”

“When my father was lying in the hospital in Spring 1989 where he also died in several days, the senior doctor came in for his rounds and he told my dad: ‘How are you, sir? Not well, right?‘ And my dad told him: ‘Not really, the lads are doing worse.‘ The doctor shrugged his shoulders and said: ‘Confusion?‘ Our dad heard it and answered him that no, he meant Jirous and Havel. The senior doctor started laughing and said: ‘You see, he is the only person in surgery who does not think about himself. And what have you got here, sir? He looked and my dad had a little notebook and he had French vocabulary written down in it. The doctor asked: ‘Does Jana learn that?‘ Dad answered: ‘No, I do, Jana says that she is not good at languages.‘ The doctor asked: ‘How old are you, sir?‘ - ‘I am eighty-five, ‘ my dad answered. ‘And you are still learning?' asked the doctor. 'Yes,' replied my dad."

“Someone asked me how I got to know Pavel Wonka. I could not remember who introduced me to Pavel Wonka. Then I realized that my car broke down in Vrchlabí and I had a lot of children there. I got stuck with them in Vrchlabí and I was looking for help on Saturday evening. Because I was a nurse, when I could not find help, I thought that ambulancemen might help me because they were usually a good bunch of people. I went to the hospital doorman, but the man told me that everyone was at home but also to wait and he started to figure out how to help me. He suddenly ran out and called: ‘Pavel, Pavel!‘ And a shorter, bearded man stopped there. The hospital doorman told him: ‘Pavel, there is a nurse from Brod here and she has children with her,‘ he told Pavel what I had told him. And Pavel immediately said he would help me. He spent about three hours repairing it, he was extremely sweaty, and it was hot. He told me to get some ice cream with the children in the meantime, then he started to talk to the children, why they were there, and what for. And he found it out quickly because the children were talkative and indicated many things. And he was laughing, looked at me and said: ‘Well, I´m glad that I could help. I can see that you will be my partner in crime.‘ I will never forget that phrase. I laughed that I might be.”

“One of the house searches during which I was present, was completely unexpected for me. My parents were probably a little bit more used to it. I was ill and was supposed not to let anyone in as parents say to all children. I heard someone stomping on the stairs, so I went to check. I know that I was wearing a nightgown and I was barefoot. And there were some men wearing uniforms and about two in civilian clothes there. They asked me where my parents were. They of course knew that dad had to be downstairs, and that mum was already working in the enterprise. It was called Wood production company. So, I said that my parents were downstairs at work, and I bravely told them that I could not let them in. At first, they told me to shut my dog up; we had a collie, and she was such a nice dog. I called her, they made a few steps into the hall and I told them that I could not let them in until my dad and mom came. I probably gave the impression of bravery and one of them slapped me and because I was barefoot, I fell on a mangle and broke my mouth.”