They shall not pass – that’s the battle cry of the border guards

Oldřich Kalousek spent more than two years at the border guard in Šumava. He served there from 1953-1956 and thus became a first-hand witness of the creation of the so-called Iron Curtain, the delineation of the border area, the installation of the barbed-wire barriers and entanglements and its strict surveillance by the so-called first-wave units of the border guard. At the time, these units served as a sort of a showcase of the Czechoslovak People’s Army. It goes without saying that the participation of the border-guard units in the May-Day parade and the military parade to mark the liberation of Prague at Letná was mandatory. According to the witnesses, the border guards were traditionally considered to be the best troops in the army. The young border guards, holding their firearms and dogs and singing songs, marched from Dejvice through Špejchar to Letná, where the podium with the leaders of the state was located. The experience of the show has impressed Oldřich Kalousek for the rest of his life: “We marched and we sang songs: ‘they shall not pass, hey hoe, hey hoe, this is the battle cry of the border guards’. When the major shouted ‘arms on your shoulders’ we raised our arms so that the bayonets did flash.”