Alena Popperová

“And this Postl, although it was forbidden, he used to frequent our house, and he kept going on: 'Dear Mr Doctor this... Dear Mr Doctor that... And he was a Gestapo informer. And he denounced my father, stating that he had been covering his star, that he had been visiting his office, although he was banned to do that, and most of all, my father couldn't go out with us. And he really paid attention to us, every Saturday we would go to those fields and meadows around Budějovice and my father... I remember so much of the things he told us about nature. And that was another case. As he could go to some district only and he went, of course... and that was the third and final reason why this Postl denounced him.”

“So we stayed there for some time, me and my mother, and then we went to Budějovice. Manka was the only person who had the keys, so we just went inside. And it was looted, like completely, there was just this heavy furniture they weren't able to carry away. There were no mattresses in our beds, or just a single cup, it was all gone.”

“Then I saw it, it was near Charles Square, I didn't know where exactly. This guy, wearing white knee-high socks, hanging from a lamp post with this barrel full of gasoline or something burning right beneath him. I knew that after the revolution we couldn't go outside, as there were Hitlerjugend hiding in the windows, shooting. Not just at someone, they were shooting at anyone. And they, as my grandson reminded me, they shot this cooking pot with meat in our window. So we couldn't go out at all, as they were just everywhere, shooting. Those German bastards.”

“He came upstairs and he brought this woman with her. He would lead her in my room and as this woman saw me, she just stretched out her arms, saying: 'Alenka!' And I would run away. I had to run away, as that person was just horrible to behold. I couldn't recognize my own mother. It was just terrible, as it was my mother. So skinny, yellow, like this... She used to be skinny, but this was just... all sunken. Awful thing. She had no hair, it looked like she had no hair. She was wet all over. Just an awful character. And her legs, these bones, like people in the concentration camps had, it was just ugly. And my uncle yelled at me: 'Come here, don't you know this is your mother?!' So I came back: 'Where is my mother with her bracelets, smelling so nice all over?' Right...? It was an ugly thing, something utterly horrible!'

“And this Gestapo man, he kept going around, in this three-room flat of course, he kept going around. I know that I just stood in the room, with my arms folded, shaking all over with terror, as this guy really scared me. So I dared to ask him: 'I beg you, take everything you want to, but just let my mother stay with us.' And he just raised his hand and said: 'Shut up, you filthy Jew!' But he didn't strike me. And me and my mother, we kept going with him all over our flat, and he said: 'Tomorrow, I want you in this hallway at 10 AM, and I will let you take your dresses.”

“Someone was ringing the bell and went to open the door and there were two men in leather jackets. They had collars like this. As it went again: ''Someone is at the door, go there. They came to pick us up.' So I went to open the door. And as I opened the door, I asked them in a small voice: 'How can I help you?' And he pushed me aside and he just followed me. And there was this shelf where we kept our toys. So they just pulled the curtain and went on. I went on running from the hallway, through the kitchen to the children's room, where my mother was sitting, sewing something. I went in front of them and I told her: 'There are two men going in, mother.' And my mother, she was just struck by terror, as she knew what was going on. And me, as I saw her face, I knew it was bad indeed. They are here! And they came, of course. Policemen, they showed us their badges. And they told my mother: 'Come on, come on, get dressed! You are coming with us! Hurry, or we will take you without a coat!' And my mother, as she was sewing, she would stick a needle into this basket, into this little pillow. And we started packing as they kept yelling at her. This tiny suitcase, me and my sister would put stuff in it. Later, my mother said that as she was in custody in a Gestapo prison, she would open it and all she could find was those kid's clothes... Well, I was so stupid, being a twelve year old, you know...”