Author talked to and learned about lives of people who were persecuted by the previous, communist regime in former Czechoslovakia. Book describes their live stories.
Now they appear unreal, unthinkable, sometimes too epic to be true. Some people there were basically just unfortunate that fell into gears of communists dark side, some were actively trying to resist, change, or fight the regime that they considered wrong and unjust.
There were people that fought in first World War, survived then fought in second World War against fascism, survived and got into trouble after communists took control. Heroes one year the next year criminals.
There were people who started to collaborate with western forces and secret services outside of the country because they realized that they just couldn't watch what is going on and do nothing.
Others did absolutely nothing but have been at the wrong time on a wrong place. When soviets were transporting prisoners after second world war, they often traveled long distances by foot between the cities. And of course some prisoners managed to escape. When the number of prisoners didn't fit, soviets just dragged somebody random who they've crossed.
There have been fighter pilots that didn't agree when Slovakia became a fascist country and escaped with a small fleet from Slovakia while they could to Poland. Some took refuge there, some continued to East in hope that the could join Soviets in a fight against Nazis and some later managed to join Royal Air Force. Some of those on east ended up in Gulag and many died. Those who survived and returned after WW2 people perceived as heroes. However after few years when communists took control, they easily ended up on the other side of society. Many saw western world and believed in democracy, some just were accused of collaboration with western countries just because they spent some time there before.

anyway, takeaways to not to forget:

  • Slovakia was a fascist state between 1939-1945, its just a mystery to me why we didn't have to pay any reparations like Hungary, Romania, Finland
  • Between 1945 - 1948 reunited Czechoslovakia was a democratic state with democratic elections where communist party while in majority was still democratic. Interestingly Slovak part was mostly democratic whereas Czech were mostly communist.
  • In late February 1948 Communist party seized government control via coup and that was the beginning of the whole new era.
  • Those who survived didn't regret their actions and time spent in labor camps, prisons, extermination camps and years after when they have been pushed down and forbidden to get desired education and jobs.
  • Some of the people managed to find another discipline and flourished anyway, that is most admirable.
  • Judges, informers, people responsible for destroying and making others lives terrible were usually unpunished. Some even stayed in same occupation after revolution and some of the victims and offenders even met again in a free country.

Can't help myself to see similarities between communist mafia state methods and current government mafia attempts.

Book was great, of course author draws personal stories in one sided way, there is no space for looking into individual mistakes or perhaps mischiefs. Each of those stories are very encouraging and are proving how strong and determined can person be even against most unfavorable fate still holding truth as a main believe.