The Border Crossing

In March 1949 the group of young people from Czechoslovakia decided to cross the borders to Austria. The head of this group was Julie Hrušková, whose father was a game warden in a nearby Vranov. Julie, the child of the woods, knew the terrain very well. At about three o´clock in the afternoon they were crossing the border. One of them, Honek, was standing on the gateway and saying goodbye: ‛Republic, we are about to come back with the whole army…’ and something more. And I said. ‛Look, do not stand as a candidate because you ring the wires and the finance men will hear it somewhere.’ Well and in that moment I saw an Austrian officer yelling at us: ‛Halt!’ And I thought to myself – I do not know if he is good or bad because I did not recognize him on that distance. So I said: ‛Follow me!’ We jumped to the bushes and zigzagged through it, the boys followed me. We ran across the forest and a field and in the next wood they waved at us. And I said: ‛Well, maybe they were good, but we will not go back. One never knows.’” The Austria officers could inform their friend and Julia´s father, Karel Hruška, that her escape was successful.