The flares exploded mid-air and lit up the town. The pilots saw it as if it was noon
Download image
Vlastimil Svoboda was born on the 24th of June in 1938 in the Polish village of Zelówek in close vicinity to the town of Zelów. His parents were descendants of Czechs who left the country for religious reasons after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. His father worked as a boilerman in the local textile factory and he was a lay evangelical preacher. The family lived in Zelów. through the WWII, they witnessed fighting between the Germans and Soviets or bombing of Łódź. After the end of war, witness’ parents decied to return to their homeland. At first, they found their new home in Liberec, later, they settled in Dolní Řasnice in the Frýdlant area. Here, Vlastimil Svoboda lived through his childhood and along with other boys, he explored his new home. After finishing the first five grades of basic school, he started to attend the higher grades in Nové Město pod Smrkem and after, he apprenticed as a machinist and then he worked in the TIBA company in Frýdlant until his retirement. In August 1968, he became a witness of the Warsaw Pact armies invasion when a part of an army corps passed through Dolní Řasnice to Frýdlant. In 2021, he lived in Dolní Řasnice. Recording of witness’ memories was possible due to the support of the Liberec district.
