Life along the Iron Curtain | Memory of Nations

Helena Matrasová, née Dercová, about 15 years old, Varnsdorf, circa 1950

Helena Matrasová

* 1935 †︎ 2026

New citizen of Sudetenland after 1945, Slovak-Polish relations in years 1918 - 1945, Life along the Iron Curtain, Witnesses of local events connected to WWII, Witness of local events from the Communist era

8. 9. – 1. 11. 1944 - The battle of the Dukla Pass, 8. 5. 1945 - End of WWII, 1. 9. 1939 - The outbreak of the WW2

Photograph, January 2014

Manfred Matthies

* 1941

Germany, Illegal border crossing, GDR - outgoing passengers, Political prisoner in the GDR, East German Refugee and 2 more categories

13.8.1961 - Building of the Berlin Wall, 1989 - The fall of the iron curtain, 9.11.1989 - The fall of the Berlin Wall

Tomáš Mazal in 1984

Tomáš Mazal

* 1956

Writer, The underground, A cultural celebrity, Life along the Iron Curtain

21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia

Jaromír Mergl in his youth

Jaromír Mergl

* 1962

Relative of a political prisoner, Witness of local events from the Communist era, The underground, A cultural celebrity, Life along the Iron Curtain

30. 5. 1953 – 3. 6. 1953 – The monetary reform and subsequent public upheaval, 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 1989 - The fall of the iron curtain, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, 2022 - full scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine and 1 more anniversaries

Cyril Michalica in the Auxiliary Technical Battalions

Cyril Michalica

* 1933

Illegal border crossing, Underage political prisoners, Victim of persecution due the forced agricultural collectivisation, Political prisoner in the 1950‘s (ČSR), PTP (Auxiliary Technical Battalions) and 4 more categories

1944 - 1945 - The liberation of Czechoslovakia, 23. 2. 1949 – Beginning the forced agricultural collectivisation, 13. – 14. 4. 1950 – "Action K" – forceful concentration of Czech monks

Julie Michálková

Julie Michálková

* 1933

Bata school Graduate, Forced labour during the WW2, Victim of forced relocation, Sudeten Germans, Witnesses of local events connected to WWII and 3 more categories

30. 5. 1945 – 29. 10. 1946 - Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, 8. 5. 1945 - End of WWII, 21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia

Marta Michálková with her father Jaroslav Bílek in Mezná, 1930s

Marta Michálková

* 1931

New citizen of Sudetenland after 1945, Re-emigration of Czechs after 1945, Life along the Iron Curtain

1944 - 1945 - The liberation of Czechoslovakia, 1945 - 1947 Expulsion of Germans from former German East territories, 30. 5. 1945 – 29. 10. 1946 - Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, 8. 5. 1945 - End of WWII

Olga Michalová in 1950

Olga Michalová

* 1930

Czech minority in the former USSR, The national, ethnic or religious minorities in Poland, New citizen of Sudetenland after 1945, Repatriated, Relative of a political prisoner and 6 more categories

Western Ukrainian lands within Poland 1919–1939, 1939 - 1941 - The first Soviet occupation of Galicia, 1. 9. 1939 - The outbreak of the WW2, 17.9.1939 - Soviet invasion of Poland , 10. 7. 1946 – Agreement on Volhynian Czechs option with the USSR

Tomáš Mitáček in 1997

Tomáš Mitáček

* 1968

Environmentalist, The Student activist during the Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, Life along the Iron Curtain

21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 21. 8. 1988 – 17. 11. 1989 – Street demonstrations against the communist regime, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Palach Week

Růžena Mlynářová

* 1930

Czech Minority in Klodzko County (Poland), German minority in Poland after 1945, Victim of forced relocation, Witnesses of local events connected to WWII, Wehrmacht soldier and 1 more categories

Statistics: 21434 Witnesses the Database; 12155 Witness Stories; 22088 Registered Researchers; 180686 Photos; 71226 Clips