WHAT'S IN IT FOR US
What did the Neighbors Who Disappeared project give us? How was it important for us?
Eliška Konupková:
There are nine of us and we are all different, but share a common goal: to investigate the fates of the Havlíčkův Brod Pachner family. We want to show people that even modern history, the history of the 20th century, can conceal such atrocities, terror and humiliation committed against human beings. I refer to World War II and what we call the Holocaust.
The greatest problem of the entire project is most probably time. Not one of us expected the work involved to take so long and could include so many different presentations (expositions, articles, the panel, the almanach and other forms). Nevertheless, I believe the project brought us diverse new knowledge, interesting meetings and most importantly - experience we will carry throughout our lives. Only now can we judge whether or not the work and effort invested into the project was worth it.
Monika Křížová:
I am thinking of the curse of bearing a yellow star on one's coat. The knocking on the door in the night, "Police, open the door!" Europe has betrayed its Jews. Crowds of people amass, watching the livestock cars anxiously, in disbelief that they might be for them. The long journey leads to the worst of hells, "To the right, to the left", names vanish and only numbers remain, smoke rises from the chimneys. A man thrusts himself on the barbed wires. One day, everything changes - soldiers appear, people return home only to find out that there is no more home. Those who survive are haunted by memories which occasionally lead to tears. The cemeteries fill with gravestones... and the young generation today once again raises their right arms.
Adolf Hitler made up his mind that all races are "inferior" to the Germanic race. What led him to such an opinion? Why would he need to elevate "Aryans" above all others? We will probably never know for sure. I secretly hope that the era of thoughts like his will never return, that our work might open people's eyes... Our time unfortunately leaves room for forgetfulness - allows us to forget our past. The view that what was in the past is of no concern to us is increasingly popular. I can only hope that whoever reads our almanach will understand that we have a lot to learn from our own history and that forgetting our past is the worst mistake we could possibly make.
Kateřina Rýpalová:
The project gave me much, although it also took away a lot - it was incredibly time consuming. Despite this, the positives clearly outweigh the negatives. What means the most to me? During this cooperative project, I finally understood why people try so hard to forget all the horrors that happen around us. Whenever they asked us why we participate, we would answer: "Because we must not forget." The more you know about the individual members of a family, the more you gradually reveal of their fates, you can't stop yourself from imagining what feelings they might have been going through. What a person is thinking about while standing on one foot in a train car, surrounded by dozens of desperate people, who are equally exhausted, hungry and foul smelling and has no idea where he or she is being taken? We can hardly imagine a fraction of the horror.
War is terrible. Killing is terrible. The worst is that people are killing each other. What for? Conviction. Opinion. No more, no less. Is that enough of a reason? The deeper you delve into the horrors of history, the more you become afraid. You are afraid similar things might happen again... so you try to forget what has happened. But that really is not a good solution. Thanks to this work, I finally, definitely realised, which direction to take. What is right and what is not, and most importantly, why.
Kateřina Boumová:
The project really gave me a lot for my future life. New experience and much more. It does, of course, have its cons - the amount of time spent during long afternoons while working on it. But all that is ok!
Denisa Jelínková:
Time, time and some more time. It's the thing that limits the world, and limits us. It is the only negative aspect of this project. The time I had to spend on the project was, however, worth it and I will never regret it. The project gave back to me, which is more important. It's not just about having your name on a piece of text - it's about empathy with the situation of the family. The more you get to know about them, the more you want to know even more... Then you begin imagining, what they might have been saying, what feelings they might have had in different situations... The story you piece together becomes a part of you - a part nobody will ever be able to take away from you. A person who is lucky enough to participate in this project will have nothing to regret. You will learn team work, communication with other people and making your own opinion. People who work on such a project will never fall for radical movements such as neo-nacism.
Denisa Jelínková:
Time, time and some more time. It's the thing that limits the world, and limits us. It is the only negative aspect of this project. The time I had to spend on the project was, however, worth it and I will never regret it. The project gave back to me, which is more important. It's not just about having your name on a piece of text - it's about empathy with the situation of the family. The more you get to know about them, the more you want to know even more... Then you begin imagining, what they might have been saying, what feelings they might have had in different situations... The story you piece together becomes a part of you - a part nobody will ever be able to take away from you. A person who is lucky enough to participate in this project will have nothing to regret. You will learn skills such as team work, communication with other people and making your own opinion. People who work on such a project will never fall for radical movements such as neo-nazism.
Eva Dušáková:
What you choose to do yourself, voluntarily, just like how we chose to participate in the Neighbors Who Disappeared Project as a whole - its substance, and whatever you enjoy, will not harm you. Otherwise, you would not do it, in a country that is currently free and governed by democratic rules.
There were naturally, also unpleasant morsels of the colossus - often we would seek them out, even though they were not initially counted on. They hurt, but made us stronger in the end. Hopefully, we will be strong. For... because of... following the example of our Neighbors, who disappeared. We like them and following their footsteps for years was hardly always optimistic. Unfortunately, this is probably true of all permanent and close relationships.
Lenka Klinčúchová:
The project was most certainly a rich experience for me. What it took? Certainly a lot of time. I did, however, get to meet a lot of new people, see new places, etc. I also learnt, thanks to the project, to communicate better with people and to do my work diligently.
Lucie Křížová:
It is a very interesting project, that gave me much. I am very glad that I signed up for it, even though I hesitated in the beginning. What did the project teach me? Better public performance and expressing myself.
Lucie Křížová:
It is a very interesting project, that gave me much. I am very glad that I signed up for it, even though I hesitated in the beginning. What did the project teach me? Better public performance and expressing myself.
Gabriela Kubátová:
I joined the project, because I was very curious about what it was. The places connected to the project drew me as well. When the archive was mentioned, I realised immediately that I had never been there and would hardly find the opportunity otherwise. I would never have expected myself to participate in a similar project, but I can say, I do not regret it in the least.