Leoš Mayer

"We even ran a campaign to support political prisoners. At that time, I think Standa Penc, Hanka Marvanová, now a lawyer, and Honza Chudomel were imprisoned. Then there was a woman named Alice, but I can't remember her last name. We actually received this information from someone in Prague. There were about five names on the list, and we copied them all down and ran a campaign for the release of these people. We even organized a march for the release of political prisoners, and we walked from somewhere in Turnov through Bohemian Paradise, carrying banners. At that time, we managed to organize about fifty people to join us. We carried banners through Bohemian Paradise, along the tourist trails, talking to people, and they asked us what it was all about. So we may have handed out leaflets, and surprisingly, no one dispersed us during the event."

"We only experienced physical violence when we went to Všetaty. It was during the Palach week. My ex-wife and I said to each other that it wasn't a good idea, that there would be lots of people there, lots of police, lots of secret police, and that we would probably get hurt. Should we risk it? Oh yes, it's worth it. So we got on the train and got off in Všetaty, and now we could see lots of uniformed police officers and lots of – we already knew the secret police because they usually wore hats, vests, or jackets. We thought we'd jumped into the lion's den, but we went on. So we walked through the cordon. They were constantly checking people, and we thought we were leaving the station and that everything was calm. A yellow Škoda pulled up next to us, five guys jumped out and knocked us to the ground. They emptied everything out of our bags and beat us with clubs. Then they loaded us up, took us to some collection point, and filmed us all on video camera. And of course there was an interrogation; they filmed us on camera. We had to say something, but I don't remember what. Then they loaded us onto a bus, and how there were two seats next to each other on the bus, everyone who was loaded onto it had to sit alone. Couples were not allowed to sit next to each other. The bus started moving, and they always remembered to kick someone off the bus somewhere in the woods, and then, the bus kept going. So somewhere near Poděbrady, they wanted to kick me off like that. But I grabbed the pole in front of my seat and refused to let go, saying that I wouldn't get off without my wife, that I wouldn't leave her there. Then the whole bus started chanting, and the policeman, who was in uniform—VB (Public Security - transl.)—took out his baton and wanted to hit me on the hands. The whole bus rebelled and chanted something. So he got really angry and kicked us both out somewhere between Poděbrady and Chlumec nad Cidlinou, somewhere in the fields. And in about ten minutes we hitchhiked, stopped a car and drove all the way to Chlumec."

"Among the co-signatories and friends, there were a lot of people who became agents. It's sad, unfortunately, who gave information, knowingly gave information. I don't know the background, I don't know what led them to it. And I thought to myself, how would I behave, if I'd had children at that time? My heroism would probably have ended. It's just another thing to be a hero when it's nothing, and when they can do anything to you. I didn't have a dizzying career; I was an ordinary worker at the depot. The kids weren't even on the way, so basically I had nothing to lose. But if I had anything to lose, I don't know. It would either force me to flee to the West somewhere to protect my children. Or I would withdraw. And unfortunately, they forced someone to to report. There are a lot of people like that here. I don't want to apologize, but we don't know the reasons why those people did it, so I don't judge them in any way, I don't condemn them, because I don't know the reasons."

"They threatened, they threatened in the same way. They said it was no problem for them to take both of our lives, but why would they do it. So this kind of threatening, not threatening. They just put themselves in the light, as if they were the good ones, that they could do it, but they won't. It was quite comical like that."

“They loaded me before six in the morning, when I got on the bus here, Volha was already waiting in front of the barracks near Kaplický for them to take me to work. That didn't happen, they took me straight to Pastýřská. There they started writing the protocol that they wanted me to he signed for them that I would not take part in the demonstrations. When I didn't want to sign for them, they put me in custody here in Liberec. It was terrible there, because the prison service was really walking in the corridors with those muggles who were shouting. And some communist the janitor was yelling at me, making eyes at me, his vein stood out that he was looking forward to handing me over. After which he didn't hand me over, because I was there for a while, a couple of hours. After those hours, I don't know now if three or four hours, they took me to Děčín. I wasn't with anyone in any of the cars, I was alone everywhere. I don't know if it was completely according to the regulations, but I was alone everywhere. Even in Liberec and in Děčín. Well then I foolishly decided that I would go on a hunger strike, which I probably got over after a day or so. I was wondering why I would bother here. But in the meantime, they called a psychiatrist to say that I was crazy, that I didn't want to eat. But I ate it in the meantime and the psychiatrist came for no reason. And he also scolded them for making fun of him, that I normally ate and all.”