Karel Škarka, the father of the witness, photographed the construction of the Czechoslovak border fortifications in 1938. There were vistas between the sites - today the landscape is completely wooded

Sergeant Karel Škarka assigned to the Border Guard Regiment in Žamberk in 1938

Karel Škarka Sr. with his parents - Karel and Žofie - during a temporary leave in 1940, when he was already a member of the government army. Karel Škarka appealed twice against his assignment to the government army, but to no avail

The northern Italian municipality of Premosello. Above the village, two thousand metres above sea level, rises the Monte Massone mountain massif, in the saddle of which sits the partisan camp

The mountain village of Premosello. The government troops are stationed in the local school from 12 June to 9 July 1944, before joining the partisans under the leadership of Vladimir Panoš

The father of the witness leaves by train for northern Italy in May 1944 under the command of the commander of the government troops, General Jaroslav Eminger

On July 9, 1944, at 2:30 in the morning, there was a fake ambush of a government unit in a local school by partisans. A unit of forty-six men led by Vladimir Panoš went over to Garibaldi's unit. From the partisan camp they soon set off through difficult mountain terrain on a seven-day journey on foot to neutral Switzerland, pursued by fascists and Georgian SS troops

An internment camp in Switzerland. The soldiers had to earn money for their first dinner in a local factory. Some of the soldiers stayed in Switzerland and some of them went to England

On the instructions of General Josef Svatoň, Czechoslovak soldiers knelt in prayer after crossing the border between Italy and Switzerland. In the photo, during the preparation of a meal in the internment camp

Karel Škarka, the father of the witness, underwent compulsory quarantine in Switzerland. He then went to the French port of Marseille to embark. Photo taken by the father of the witness in Annecy

A convoy of warships anchors in Algiers on November 22, 1944. Behind the lens Karel Škarka Sr.

Warships heading to Greenock, Scotland

Father of the witness Karel Škarka is undergoing training in England

From training in England

Father of the witness Karel Škarka (bottom left) in a photo from the book Tanks: Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade (PROCHÁZKA, Ivan; KUBEŠ, Ondřej and BROJO, Petr. Tanks: Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade, 1943-1945. 2009. ISBN 8090394590).

After training in England, Karel Škarka Sr. was assigned to the Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade (under the command of General Alois Liška). From 7 October 1944 until 9 May 1945, the brigade besieged the port of Dunkirk

During the siege of the port of Dunkirk, Karel Škarka was sent with the unit on a short leave to Paris. In the meantime, a comrade, Sergeant Martin Kopaničák, died in their accommodation at Dunkirk.

Funeral of his friend Martin Kopaničák, who fell at Dunkirk

Military parade in Prague on 30 May 1945. Ceremonial military parade of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade. One of the largest military parades in Prague presented soldiers who fought on the Western Front. Among them was the father of the witness Karel Škarka

After the war, Karel Škarka Sr. was deployed to the Slovak Beskydy Mountains to fight against the so-called Bandera ´s soldiers

My father made a pedal car out of a spare air tank when he came home from the front. On the photo is the witness Karel Škarka with his sister Jana

A typical trip of the Škarka family after the war. Mother Marie, dad Karel and children Jana and Karel

Karel Škarka Sr. at the airport in Karlovy Vary in 1956. Two years later, he was kicked out of the army for political reasons six months before he was eligible for retirement

Karel Škarka with his father on a trip in the late 1960s

Karel Škarka Jr. competes in ski races under number 5