Josef Grobelný

"I was at a camp in Valašské Klobouky and suddenly we saw planes flying. One was in the east, one was above us and the third was in the west. I was fifteen at the time, so we were surprised. The television was already broadcasting the latest news. As boys we didn't understand - the Soviet Union was our greatest friend, and suddenly it started occupying us. The camp ended early and we were sent home by bus. By the time we arrived from Valašské Klobouky, the bus was plastered with period posters, like 'Long live Dubček.' At home, my dad came and said, 'Give me the air gun. The Russians are such jerks that if they see you with an air gun , they'll be able to shoot you.' So he locked them in the closet for us. There was a tank left hanging in Dětmarovice. The shoulder of the road broke off under it and it was left hanging on a big cherry tree. It was there for a week. The soldiers were sitting on it and people gave them water and something to eat because nobody took care of them. They still had the maps from the year fifty-five and the roads that were plotted there were basically non-existent. I don't think those guys had it easy either, but we saw it as a show - a tank in a ditch."

"I have never cooked for the President of the Republic, but I have cooked for Štrougal, Vasil Biľak or the then Minister of Fuel and Energy Ehrenberger. We used to go to the government villa here next to the Polish consulate or to Ostravice, where those comrades of ours had all kinds of gatherings. Like Mamula's birthday. It was interesting work, but it wasn't talked about much. You had to be blind and deaf there. My job was to cook well, to make everyone happy. We were rewarded well, and when we crossed the threshold of the villa, we had to forget everything immediately. I know how the then Secretary of the North Moravian Region, Mamula, stomped on the table until all the glasses jumped and yelled at the directors of the enterprises, excuse me, we will make a beep beep, how come you are not following the plan? The ones who didn't deliver were really making themselves small. If they could have, they would have hidden under the table."