Alena Staňková

“For us little ones, it was like… First they stole us from our families, taking away our parents and bringing us into a group of complete strangers. For a child, this was a shock. But eventually, we would get used to it and make friends in this new environment with those who showed us affection. So Naďa and probably also some other girls simply became a new, substitute family for me.”

“It culminated with president Beneš visiting his native region, Kralovice, in 1946. He was born in Kožlany and Kralovice back then were a regional capital. I and a boy from Kralovice who had lost his father in war were selected to welcome the president there. We were supposed to learn a rhyme. But three days into the president’s arrival the boy said that he’d recite nothing. They swiftly came up with a new rhyme just for me. And I had to learn it by heart. I even still remember a piece of it! ‘Dear Mr. President and dear Lady, I welcome you in the name of the children in our region which gave You to the country, Mr. President…’ Here I had to bow. It then went on but I don’t remember all of it. I then gave a bouquet to the First Lady, a white, beautiful one. I have a picture of this event. They even showed it in the newsreel and a picture of me welcoming president Beneš was in the papers.”

A 12. května nás přivezli do Prahy. No, nikdo nám neřek, teda specielně těm dospělejm neřek, že nemají rodiče. Všichni si mysleli, že se s rodiči a s rodinou zase setkají, takže to bylo dost překvápko.

Já si toho moc nepamatuju, jo. Já si pamatuju takový záběry. Jdeme ve štrůdlu, ono to bylo pod kopec, tam je ten šáreckej potok dole a my jsme kolem toho potoka, jsme chodili, a nebo do kopečka potom na tu procházku ve štrůdlu. Tak to je jeden záběr. A druhej záběr je, jak jsem na posteli a mám jenom nějakou košilku na sobě a hlavu ostříhanou dohola, plnou boláků. Protože tam někdo přines vši no a já jsem si rozškrábala hlavu tolik, že prostě mě museli ostříhat dohola a prostě zbavit mě těch vší a těch strupů.

“There was a problem with cars back then. They used to run on wood gas and my aunts simply didn’t arrive on time. They couldn’t make it to the railway station. But I remember that Naďa had an aunt somewhere at or around Karlovo square. And she brought me along to her place. They then came over to her aunt to bring me back to Kaznějov. I remember it as if it were today. A dark hallway and me holding tight to the doorframe, crying: ‘I want to go to Naděnka, I want to stay with Naděnka.’ I simply didn’t want to go. When they brought me to Kaznějov and showed me pictures of my parents, I couldn’t even recognize them. What I did recognize was a doggy that we used to have – fox terrier Doda. So I said: ‘This is Doda.’ I remembered him but not my parents.”