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5: CASE STUDY 2: THE CZECH/AUSTRIAN BORDER
along the river fairly far into the woodlands had a much larger amount of
graffiti in it than the structures at the stations. In fact there were few
sections of the walls and the ceiling that did not feature writing by soldiers.
The writing here also had a much wider spread through time with a lot of
much earlier dates. This suggests that the hut in the woodlands were barely
visited by higher ranking staff and therefore were considered more of a
soldiers’ ´free zone´ where they could get away with a less strict behaviour.
It also suggests that writing on the walls was generally not an accepted
practice as there is a relatively small amount of writings on the walls in the
dormitories, which could easily be inspected by higher ranking staff. The
fact that the writing that we do find in the dormitories is of a later date, not
too long before the border guard station was closed down in 1991, suggests
that there was less importance placed on strict behaviour or that defying the
rules had less consequences.
Different sources – different stories
Three pictures emerge of the border guards: the first of soldiers as defenders
and keepers of the socialist ideals, the official line, which becomes clear
from paintings, signs, the “propaganda room”, the orderly soldier that
polishes his shoes; the second image being of border guards as young lads,
the private line. Lads who cannot wait for the end of their two year service,
as seen in the graffiti left behind, who have pictures of naked ladies on the
wall and who, years later, reminisce about their time together on an online
forum. But there is also the more brutal view from other sources, of guards
shooting people trying to escape over the border. I cannot help but feel that
the different images of the border guards clash in my head. On the one
hand you have the brutal stories of border guards dragging people into the
Czechoslovakian side of the border in order to arrest them, as well as
pictures of those they killed and on the other hand you have the images of
young men doing their military service counting down the days until they
can go home, trying to entertain themselves best they can until that day
comes. The different stories that emerge from the different sources do not
match but are all equally valid.
Today the area of the Podyji Park is mostly used for recreational
purposes and to create a ‘utopia’ for animals and vegetation. The landscape
we see today is the result of many different phases of history. Today a lot of
emphasis is put on remembering the days of the area as part of Vranov
Castle Park. The monuments from this part of the history has been restored,
renovated and given a new lease of life. What material that has survived
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