Hedvika Žalská

* 1935

  • “Simply put, an order arrived. Our leader told us there was no other way. Either we would become ‘Svazáks’, ČSM members, or we would quit. But, since we were living up there in our solitary house, we didn’t know. Those who lived down in the village of Mutějovice had already agreed on it and were wearing blue, the SSM colour, on the First of May. But, they kind of forgot about us up there in solitude, and we were wearing the Junák scout colours, with the lily badges and all. They wouldn’t let us join the parade, but there were many people. It was not just us – there were all of the surrounding villages, and we all went to Rakovník – the parade was taking place in Rakovník – and so we were sort of hidden in the middle of it and not too noticeable. All told, we took part in the parade wearing our Junák colours. That was kind of nice. And that’s where I quit politics, actually. That was it for me. I couldn’t grasp how they were boy and girl scouts one moment and ČSM the next.”

  • “Czech barges sailed there – from Wittenberg and I don’t know where else from. They would go from Hamburg to Prague. One day, we were sailing in the rain, and a barge was overtaking us. I will never forget it. What a moment – as they were pushing forward, we saw a mast and a Czech flag on it. In Germany! We didn’t hear a word of Czech because we were quite far inland, yet suddenly, in the bad weather, in the rain – lo and behold! The boys ran out, we waved at them and said we were Czechs, and they asked where we were coming from. But we were quite far apart to chat, really. They said they were going to Prague, so we waved at them, and it was nice, kind of special. After that, I just sat thinking: ‘Now, who am I actually?’ It was such a strange moment for me: ‘Who are you? Are you a Czech, or a German?’ That was interesting.”

  • “Aunt said the trains were already waiting, and they were allowed to only bring luggage of certain weight with them. For example, it would be 25 kilos, or 50 kilos, though mostly just 25. My relatives were not among the very first to go, so they had big spacious sacks made: one of my uncles was a saddler and he made the sacks. They could put their stuff in them safely. That way, they passed the check. Yet, even after they had passed the check, the officials would sometimes take things from them, even if it was just 25 kilos all together, if they ‘deemed it fit’. So, it was not granted they would leave with 25 kilos of luggage. Some had to go straight away, like the woman who took our place. She was leaving with virtually nothing – with just a few kilos.”

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    Karlovy Vary, 28.08.2022

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She saw Adolf Hitler and the US Army using the bridge in Loket

Hedvika Žalská, 1964
Hedvika Žalská, 1964
zdroj: Archiv pamětnice

Hedvika Žalská was born into a German family in Nové Sedlo on 17 July 1935. She spent her early childhood and World War II in Loket where she witnessed Adolf Hitler’s arrival in 1939 as well as the liberation by US Army in 1945. She lost her mother during the war. The post-war deportations of Germans divided the family for many years. Her father was a miner and, as such, was not forced to leave, but had to vacate his house. Hedvika Žalská and her younger brother stayed in Czechoslovakia with their father whereas her older brother and all the other family members including her beloved grandma were deported to eastern Germany. Hedvika Žalská and her younger brother were the only two German children in the local Junák (boy/girl scout) organisation. They even took part in a First of May parade wearing the Junák uniforms. Hedvika Žalská was to take her machine fitter training in 1951 but contracted typhus. She just barely survived and the sickness made her weak for a long time. She never completed the school. Along with her father and brother, she returned to the Karlovy Vary area and made her own living. She always shunned politics. In the 1960s, she was allowed to visit her relatives in Germany. In 1981, she first visited western Germany where her eldest brother had fled. She has perceived herself as being Czech. She was living in Karlovy Vary in 2022.