Hubert Krista

* 1934

  • "Our dad, he didn't go fight in the war. He was skating on a pond in the winter and broke his leg, do he just didn't have to join the army. But during the last year of the war, when Hitler was hitting rock bottom, dad was dragged to the front and he died in Romania." - "So your dad joined the army in 1944?" - "Yes." - "And did he go to Romania or Greece?” – “He was on the front in Romania and we got a letter saying that he was there – and then we got a note stating that he died in nineteen forty-four.”

  • "In the morning, just one day before the transport was to leave, my brother and I tried to cross the border to Bohemia. My brother went with my sister, and then we followed with my mother and grandmother to Malá Čermná. The Poles caught us there and did not let us carry on. But my mother said we were going to be expulsed the very next day, and so they let us go. And we checked it out again in the evening and the guards were no longer at the border, so we crossed into Bohemia, we went to Žďárek. So on the night of St. Joseph's Day, we arrived in Žďárky."

  • "We spoke quite a lot of Czech, so it was difficult, because we had to speak German at school. But my mother, she spoke Czech to my grandmother, because in Czermna, Słone andZakrze most people were of Czech origin. People from Malá Čermná (it was already in Bohemia) married people from Velká Černá. There was a lot of talking in Czech, the older people spoke a lot of Czech."

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    Velké Poříčí, 27.08.2022

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Captured by soldiers while fleeing from Poland to Bohemia, they escaped prison thanks to a bribe

Hubert Krista in 2022
Hubert Krista in 2022
zdroj: Post Bellum

Hubert Krista was born on April 7, 1934 in Velká Čermná in Kłodzko, which was then Germany. His father was enlisted in the Wehrmacht and died in action in Romania. His mother had to start working at a tobacco factory to support the family. Hubert had to work for a local farmer during the last year of the war in order to bring more food on the family’s table. After the war, Kłodzko became a part of Poland and the Kristas, like many others, were to be resettled. They chose to flee to Bohemia before being sent into the unknown. The first attempted border-crossing did not work out, as they were captured by Polish soldiers who wanted to imprison them. A bribe ensured that they could go back home. However, that very night they tried to cross the border again, this time successfully. The beginnings in their new home were rough, the Czech state did not support the poor family in any way. After completing compulsory education, the witness worked as a construction worker. He later completed an apprenticeship and became a bricklayer. He carried on in this profession until his retirement. His sister emigrated to Germany, where he was able to visit her with his family in 1968. He had to report on his trip to the Local National Committee. He no longer visits his native village, as all his relatives and friends have left for Germany or the Czech Republic. In 2022, he lived in Bezděkov nad Metují, where he built a family house.