Ing. Josef Parlesák

"That was a really great experience, because it was a workers' uprising. The currency reform and norms... So [the workers] kicked down the gates of the Škoda factory and took off to the streets and, of course, the rest of the population joined in. There were also some brave people who stormed the town hall, threw some papers out of there, some soldier even wanted to take over the government. I don't know exactly, but I can still see it quite clearly. We lived on Klatovská avenue, formerly Prvního máje avenue. Across the street there is the "Thank you, America!" monument nowadays. They sent a lot of soldiers from the Border Guard in cars there, and they intervened and punished the people harshly. For example, they punished a good friend of mine, with whom I was in contact for decades afterwards. They lived on Skrétova Street, they were offered the border area, they had to go somewhere outside Rokycany. This gentleman, Dr. Hegner, it was said that he would be a candidate for mayor of Pilsen. His son Jiří Hegner was the same age as me." - "So did they suffer the consequences after the protests against the devaluation of savings?" - "It was because someone denounced him for standing by the statue of Masaryk. At that time, there was still a statue of Masaryk not far from us. One only had to stand there to be liquidated."

"It was summer, so we couldn't really take our mink coats, or beaver coats or anything else. We had a briefcase, as the First Secretary said, 'Not everybody can run off to Vienna with a briefcase.' We took a briefcase with our summer clothes and our seven-year-old son. But we were separated, my wife had booked a seat in a sleeper carriage and I was sitting alone in another carriage so that we would not be conspicuous as a family with our suitcases. It went well. I sat on the train with a young man, a student, who kept asking me cautiously if we were in Austria yet. Then we arrived in Austria, hooray, and he totally changed, because he was running away too. After that we remained friends for many years, we kept in touch for many years." - "Did you take any valuables, like jewelry or money, if you were able to exchange it?" - "Of course we tried to exchange it, but the crown was very weak. My parents gave me a hundred dollars, but that was the family fortune to them. Nowadays, a hundred dollars gets you dinner with your family. The prices were different. We had some things. Some things we got there illegally, as one did in those days. But how to take the money? I figured I'd put it in my son's teddy bear. My wife said, 'Not in the teddy bear!' She didn't want to involve the child. I think I put it into a toothpaste tube, but these are known tricks, if the customs officers were clever they would have figured it out."

"We were awaiting them, as the rumbling of the tanks was heard from the Pilsen - Prague state road. They turned, Lukavice is away from the main road. So the tanks rumbled and rumbled, and when the Americans got there, of course everyone gathered around. My father was just making currant wine and he was throwing it to the hulls for them. They spent the night at our house. I was lucky in the future years too, because of the languages. My mother could speak English and German, she worked in Kladno. She graduated from a business academy and she was gifted, she spoke well. She was the only one in the village, she mediated it when the Americans wanted fresh eggs and honey. Whereas our dad was a heavy smoker and the other guys mainly wanted cigarettes. We had to collect the cigarette butts for my dad when the Americans threw it on the ground unfinished, then he'd stuff it in his pipe. And we'd hang around the Americans until they pulled out small rationed chocolates. We also saw rice for the first time. They were there for a few months, got along very well, but there was at least one problem. Some people were taking things from them, which was understandable. One carpenter stole a tin can from them, but he made a mistake and it was a charge. It exploded and badly injured one of his hands, I think his fingers were gone, and his knee. The Americans took care of him quickly, but then the access to their campsite was restricted for a period of time."