Border Crossings: Coming of Age in the Czech Resistance (A Memoir) by Charles Novacek

Author:Charles Novacek [Novacek, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Communists, History: Eastern Europe – Czech Republic and Slovakia, Cold War, History: Military – World War II, Czechoslovakia, Czech Resistance, Underground movements, Biography and Autobiography: Personal Memoirs, Slovakia, Charles Novecek
Publisher: 1021 Press
Published: 2012-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

five

The Time Between

I was born near a border

and crossing others became common.

Sometimes the crossing

was an arduous journey,

through treacherous mountains

protected by fierce dogs and bloodthirsty guards.

Sometimes it was an escape.

Another Escape

I was twenty years old when I had to flee my native land.

If I had stayed, I would have been killed. It was as simple and as terrible as that.

I loved Czechoslovakia, and that feeling was stronger than almost anything else I knew; yet the urge for self-preservation drove me to leave, hoping to return when the madness ended.

In the meantime, I would continue to fight while in exile. The years away might be difficult, but the whole world would open up to me, and I would experience things I had not known before. I would make the United States my home, and would find freedom there until the day I could find it once more in my own country.

As I awaited Pavel’s instructions, I considered the journey ahead. Crossing the border near Vimperk, in the Bohemian forest, would not be difficult—or so I thought, having already passed over so many borders. The bitter adventure in the hills and a potential upcoming and serious meeting with Americans kept in my mind that a demanding part of my war was nigh; my job would be to convince the Americans in Bavaria that we in Czechoslovakia were dedicated to fighting the Soviets in any way we could, and we expected help.

I knew the United States Congress did not allow interference in other nations’ internal affairs, so I was not sure how the meeting would end. Still, Pavel had assigned me as a liaison to the United States Civil Intelligence Corps (CIC), knowing I had the right experience, background, and skills; I had fought in the resistance for many years, had devised a new communication procedure that eluded the enemy’s probing, and was fluent in German, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, and Polish. If anyone could persuade the Americans, it was I.

I could only hope for the best.

I had to wait for Pavel’s go-ahead and good weather before crossing into Bohemia. Three young men would be crossing the hills with me.

Finally, we got word that we were to cross the border on November 12, 1948. The young men accompanying me were named Tonda, Lojza, and Mirek. Among us I was the only one associated with the Bohemian underground, but Mirek was a close friend; we called each other brothers.

In the late afternoon, deep in the wilderness between the frontier of the Bohemian forest, the steep cliffs of Knižecí Stolec, Lake Lipno, Mount Horní Planá, and the hills in the east, we ate a hearty meal in the camp, enough to sustain us for our dangerous hike.

Pavel drilled us as we ate. Then he checked our outfits, tied the backpack straps, and made sure the caps were secured under our chins and the gloves tied to our sleeves. He slid his finger across razor-sharp knives, checked our revolvers, and ensured we had extra supplies of ammunition. Each of us also had a piece of dry smoked meat and some dried prunes in his breast pocket.

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