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A few days after we arrived at Poprad I was stopped by two Russian soldiers with automatic guns. They asked me something in Russian. I didn’t understand what it was about and they convoyed me to a KGB office [10]. They kept me in a cell for few days and then I was taken to a prison in Slovakia. I don’t know where it was.
In a few days I was taken to court. There were three people sitting at the table. They had some papers in front of them. They asked me something that I didn’t understand. They spoke Russian and there was no interpreter. The only thing I understood was ‘ten years’: it sounds similar in Russian and Slovakian.
I was taken back to prison and then convoyed somewhere else. I didn’t understand what the charges were. I didn’t have an attorney. They didn’t allow me to say ‘good bye’ to Mother or write her a letter. I never saw her again.
We went across the mountains and covered 150 kilometers. We reached Cracow. The town was ruined and destroyed. The only undamaged building was a prison. We were kept in this prison for two months. It was stuffed with inmates who were no less scared than I. They were accused of cooperation with the fascist regime only because they survived. Actually, this was our guess since there was no investigation. We didn’t even get to telling them about ourselves.
In a few days I was taken to court. There were three people sitting at the table. They had some papers in front of them. They asked me something that I didn’t understand. They spoke Russian and there was no interpreter. The only thing I understood was ‘ten years’: it sounds similar in Russian and Slovakian.
I was taken back to prison and then convoyed somewhere else. I didn’t understand what the charges were. I didn’t have an attorney. They didn’t allow me to say ‘good bye’ to Mother or write her a letter. I never saw her again.
We went across the mountains and covered 150 kilometers. We reached Cracow. The town was ruined and destroyed. The only undamaged building was a prison. We were kept in this prison for two months. It was stuffed with inmates who were no less scared than I. They were accused of cooperation with the fascist regime only because they survived. Actually, this was our guess since there was no investigation. We didn’t even get to telling them about ourselves.
Period
Year
1945
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Kurt Sadlik