Jiřina Benešová

* 1928

  • "I had such a soldier there. It was - I was then telling my husband: 'You are like that American. Such a big and handsome boy.' They were all nice, but this one... I couldn't go to the bar because he was always watching me when I would come and as soon as he saw me, he already took me dancing. And he couldn't dance, and neither could I. I just waggled with him there. And when we finished, when the piece was finished, he went away and came and he had this armful of their cans and everything. And the girls sat around me and he always put it in my lap. So, I gave it away and whoever wanted it, could take it. That was rare. That's how I remember the Americans."

  • “When the soldiers arrived, and they came to every house. It was four o'clock in the morning, and we were getting up for the bus, because it was going to Pilsen at half past four. And we had to stay standing because we were all awake. And when the soldiers came in, they immediately looked at the radio and said: 'Well, what about the radio?' And they started setting it up. And dad was afraid, he worked in Škodovka and he was afraid because - you know how it was. We would probably all go to the gas. And it was switched. A gendarme lived above us and he also ran there. That was fun too, he would run across the barn so no one would see him, so he would be covered if something happened. And that's how it turned out. But it was good, it was switched to Prague."

  • "Later, I commuted when I could, so I commuted to Horní Bříza and from Horní Bříza on foot. And when the Germans drove, they drove at night. And when they were driving the car I always jumped into a ditch or a field and crouched there. When there was grain, then into grain or into clover. I didn't do anything there, just such a bed and I crouched down. They drove past me, and when they drove back again, I had to hide again. So, I ran like this the whole way. They didn't drive every day, but when I went there, it happened almost every time. I was so afraid, but I didn't say anything at home because they would be worried about me."

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    Horní Bříza, 25.10.2021

    (audio)
    délka: 01:29:18
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of 20th Century
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The teacher started crying and we followed her

Jiřina Benešová in 2021
Jiřina Benešová in 2021
zdroj: Post Bellum

Jiřina Benešová, née name Široká, was born on March 17, 1928 in Horní Bříza. However, the family soon moved to the village Loza, where her mother bought a piece of land. In March 1939, Jiřina watched the arriving German troops from the school window. Her teacher burst into tears, followed by all the children. In June 1942, she experienced a house search by the Gestapo. During the war, she was deployed in the building of the agricultural school in Plasy, where she served German children who were accommodated. She became friends with some. However, she does not like to remember SS leaders. She experienced the end of the war while studying in Pilsen, where she was learning to be a tailor. She experienced the liberation of Pilsen by American soldiers. She worked part-time jobs and made extra money by sewing clothes. In 2021, she lived in Horní Bříza.