They took everything they had

Miloslav Šafrán was a soldier of the 3rd tank battalion of the 1st Czechoslovak armored brigade. This unit moved to Bruntál in June 1945, where the soldiers helped with the concentration of the German population, securing their property and the organization of their subsequent deportation. On July 12 and 13, 1945, Miloslav Šafrán thus witnessed the expulsion of about 3,700 Germans from Bruntál and also the admission of local Germans to the transit camp Machold. The administration of the camp was in the hands of the local security guard troops, and the task of the soldiers of the tank battalion was allegedly only to assist them. “A group that called itself the ‘Revolutionary Guard’ came into existence there. No one elected them, they simply established themselves. The members were sort of adventurers. They made a stand there, where they received the Germans. You wouldn’t see a young man among the Germans - it was all elderly folks, women and school kids. Each one holding a bag with just what he needed. The members of the Revolutionary Guard brought a laundry basket to the stand. We wondered what they needed it for. They searched the Germans and took away anything of value: rings, earrings, necklaces. They simply robbed them. When an earring didn’t go off, they tore it off, ripping the ear with it. When I saw this, I thought that it simply can’t be true. But it was and we couldn’t do anything about it” recalled Miloslav Šafrán.