Lidé z obsazeného města
People from the Occupied Town

A Probe into the Memoires of Witnesses of the Soviet Military Presence in Olomouc

Summary/Abstract: The Soviet garrison was deployed in Olomouc in October 1968 and it influenced the face of the city for almost 38 years until the end of the leave of the Soviet army from Czechoslovakia in 1991. Next to the soldiers were the families of the commissioned officers and civil employees of the divisions with their families. The Soviets therefore created a distinctive community which came into contact with the local inhibitors during several occasions. Part of the given research dealing with the Soviet garrison in Olomouc is the work with the testimonies of the witnesses. The focus is put on the individual experiences of the witnesses, on the traces, which were left in the memories regarding the opinion towards the Soviets in Olomouc and their negotiations. The chosen witnesses met with them mostly in the streets and during “twinning” joined events (called ‘družba’ in Czech). Therefore, their experience comes from an “external” point of view. Gained notions relate to the official meetings with the Soviets in Olomouc during official meetings (‘družba’), to the opinions and actions outside of the given environment (from friendly relations to concrete demeanour to conflict situations) and they show certain repetitive motifs in given testimonies showing the reflection of the Soviet presence in the city (Soviet supermarkets with shop assistants using abacuses so-called sčota, commissioned officer with his own servant dragging luggage, unkept and obsolete uniforms of the soldiers of the elementary conscription.

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