The Russians were called occupiers. Then they became liberators in ten days.
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Bedřich Michalec was born in Krásné Údolí near Karlovy Vary on 15 October 1949 into the family of private farmer Bedřich Michalec Sr. His parents came to West Bohemia in 1946 to farm. In the early 1950s, they got under strong pressure to join the local farming cooperative (JZD). Bedřich Michalec Sr. resisted threats and pressure from State Security Service (StB) for a long time, ultimately giving in only in 1960. The witness joined the military for his mandatory two-year service on 1 August 1968. Serving with the border unit in Nýrsko, he witnessed the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, the encirclement of the barracks by Soviet troops and the rapid change of situation in the army. He worked as the unit’s car mechanic and then as a driver with the command company in Cheb. A few times, he even drove people who were detained while trying to cross the border. In August 1969, he and his company were deployed in Prague, ready to quash the expected riots on the first anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion. Having left the army, he rejoined the JZD in Krásné Údolí, married in 1973 and had two sons. In November 1989 he co-founded the Civic Forum in Krásné Údolí and took part in local public life. After the collapse of the JZD, he worked as a driver for Hollandia until retiring in 2011.
