During my research of national socialist architecture in the 1930’s and 40’s I travelled to many places in the German-speaking world including places of historical significance in Austria and Germany. One of my more unexpected finds were in Czechia where I met a former Czechoslovakian border officer in the border town of Hrensko.
In order to get there I had to take early morning Czech train from Berlin to Dresden. I slept so soundly on the train I almost thought I missed my stop and ended up in Prague. I got off at Dresden and changed onto an S-Bahn to Pirna, where I had lunch and changed onto an international regional train to get to Schöna Station, just before the train crossed the border. I ten walked down to the ferry pier and took an international ferry to cross into the Czech town of Hrensko across the Danube.
There, I shared an Urquell Pilsner with the man and we talked about WWII and how the Germans took control over the place. He was an elite officer and was even sent to the prestigious Potsdam Military Academy and the Staff College of Berlin. A truly amazing tale of a man who has lived through the First Czechoslovak Republic, Nazi occupation, Soviet influence as a satellite state, and the Velvet Divorce.
