Annelies Taubová

"[Dad] was given the task of planting Jerusalem artichokes. The kind of potatoes that grew together and were for animals. When he was digging them, he got two prisoners to help him. He guaranteed them so they wouldn't run away. They helped him dig the Jerusalem artichokes, and Mom gave them snacks. Then when he took them back to the house, they stuffed their pants full of Jerusalem artichokes, probably to eat. They probably cooked them somewhere. My dad was worried because they were going to be scarfed when he brought them back. As he walked with them, he offered the guards a cigarette and smoked with them and they talked. The two of them quickly slipped inside to avoid being searched — and they managed to get the Jerusalem artichokes in."

"At that time there was an armoured train at the station in Žacléř. They came one night, my dad had a night shift. I guess they were with the better ones at Burga and then they banged on our front. We didn't have the keys, I guess Dad took them with him to the shaft. We still had the door at the back and we kept shouting in German, 'Come in!' And they kept banging. Then they came to the back and looked at everything. My grandfather, my dad's dad, was living up in the attic in two small rooms. When he heard the banging, he came downstairs. As they were looking, they said someone was sleeping upstairs, that there was a warm bed. Grandpa was sleeping there. In 1945, we Germans had to give up our radios and musical instruments. Dad carried a radio in his rucksack to the National Committee in Žacléř. He thought we'd get it back, so careful not to break it. We didn't get anything back. Mum had a guitar and gave it away. We had a turntable for hand spinning, we didn't take that because it was a kind of a box. They saw it upstairs, they cursed and we didn't understand. They wrote down that we probably should have turned it in."