Children´s CryingFrantišek Wiendl

František Weindl used cross the valley between two villages Liščí and Červené Dřevo quite often in 1948 – he was helping people across the border. Once he went with a group of adults and a baby. Though the baby had sleeping pills it woke up and started to cry during the riskiest part of the way w…

Under the Coat of the NightJosef Touš

After the formation of the Iron Curtain, one of the routes leading abroad was near to Medvědí kaple, (Bear Chapel). The transfers abroad were only at night when the refugees could hide themselves in the shadows of the woods or bushes and the possibility that the frontier guards see them was l…

The smuggler left her alone in the middle of the forestIrena Šimonová

On March 21, 1949, Irena Šimonová attempted to cross the border and get into West Germany. She had a legitimate fear of being arrested and thus wanted to follow in the footsteps of her friend František Smrček, who by then had already been in exile. Operating from Germany, Smrček arranged a smug…

The training of the border guardsDalibor Plšek

Dalibor Plšek started his military service in 1958. From his birthplace in Zlín, he was ordered to join the border guard brigade in Sušice. Before taking up service, he completed an intensive training course in Nýrsko. Every morning, as a warm-up exercise, the soldier-trainees had to run 10 kil…

The First Time across the Iron CurtainFrantišek Wiendl

The people who helped others to get across the Iron Curtain usually came from the border area and were very well familiar with it. František Wiendl who came from Klatovy was an exception to this rule. In the spring of 1949, his father František Wiendl senior was held prisoner for his a…

Foresters and smugglersJosef Mikoláš

After the communist coup, many people who were uncomfortable for the regime were bent on emigration. However, it wasn’t possible to emigrate legally. Therefore, people would cross the border illegally. In doing so, they were often helped by the local residents of the border areas. One of the h…

We Were Looking For a Hole in the Iron CurtainJosef Touš

After February 1948 a lot of friends of the Touš family, who had troubles after establishing the new regime in Czechoslovakia, asked for a big favour. They wanted Václav Touš to guard them to Germany. Though their house was not straight at the borders it was possible to go to the border un…

The smuggling network of Ota TulačkaMilada Pabiánová, née Tu…

After the communist coup, Milada Pabiánová's father Ota Tulačka created a prominent smuggling network. It included the smuggling of major figures such as Col. Alexander Hess, the commander of the 310th Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force, Ivana Tigridová, and Chancellor to President Beneš, Ja…