“In Kovona, which is a metal furniture factory that functions until today, but back then it was a red henhouse, so there was a meeting of the factory organisation of the Czech communist party. A boy came in, who was also a member, and he had a shoe box. He said: ‚Dears, just see, we all know what happened to the princess Thurn-Taxis. And every single one of us here used to come to feast at the castle during war. And we always got plenty. And this is how they ended up. So contribute, whatever you can.´ They brought us food ratio cards and money in the box. So the normal folks treated us quite normally.“
“Originally I went to Bartolomějská, and there was a lovely story. Back then we had an old lady, a cook, who stayed with us. When our father got locked up, she learnt that he was in Bartolomějská and baked buns, packed them into a small package, came to Bartolomějská, where a secret service man was on service. He asked her what she wanted. She replied: ‚I am a cook of Mr. earl Bořek-Dohalský. He is apparently here with you. I made buns for him, which he likes eating quite hot, so would you please be so kind to deliver them.‘ And he just didn’t know what to do about it and tried to talk his way out of it… and for all the time he spent there it was the only one package he actually got. Otherwise we could not send anything to him.“
“Since my childhood there was something similar for us as the body guards of a contemporary government garniture. When we went to Prague from Lysá for the first time… when my mum went alone, a shadow was following her and when we went together, each of us had own guard. In fact we were under the state protection. Once my mum came back quite jolly; she explained that in Prague at Charles square she met Mrs. Přádová, which was also a wife of a prisoner from a construed process called „The Castle“, during which my father was sentenced too. Mum met her and it started to rain. They took out their umbrellas and Mrs. Přádová said she would rather leave. Mum kept her staying as they haven’t seen each other for a while and wanted to talk. And they talked and talked… while her shadow kept standing there as wet as a chicken. My mum was overwhelmingly happy. Well she was a bit spiteful.“
Antonín Bořek-Dohalský was born on 28th August, 1944 in Prague as a descended of important noblemen. His father, JUDr. Jiří earl Bořek-Dohalský was active in the presidential office after war, his mum Josefa, born princess Thurn-Taxis, stayed at home. Antonín was born as the third out of four brothers. The war cruelly hit the family. Antonín´s granduncle Zdeňek and Antonín Bořek-Dohalský were killed for resistance activities; his grandfather František survived Terezín and Dachau concentration camps. Another blow came after communists rose to power; in 1950 they sentenced the witness´ father, Jiří Bořek-Dohalský in a construed process called “Prague castle” for alleged treason and espionage to 17 years in prison in labour camps. Josefa Bořek-Dohalská remained alone with four sons and without any finances, and even lost her food ratios. They found shelter in her grandmother´s house, Gabriela Thurn-Taxis in Lysá nad Labem. Antonín Bořek-Dohalský due to repressions could not get to the middle school, same as his brothers, and had to apprentice as a tiller. He served at the auxiliary technical troops in Liberec. He worked all his life in worker´s professions, as a tiller, a pub owner, and in 1967-1974 he was a flyman in the Karlin theatre. With his wife Iva he has two children, Antonín and Pavlína. His father got released in 1960 due to amnesty and then worked as a warehouse keeper. In 1968 he was rehabilitated, but a year later the court of justice cancelled the rehabilitation.
