The stab

Anything can happen, but one thing is almost certain: Jakub, 22, will never walk like he used to – that is, like an absolutely healthy man. His leg and arm will probably stay stiff as a reminder of a meeting with two skinheads in Strakonice two weeks ago. They rewarded his request to stop yelling „death to Jews“ with a stab in the spinal cord and gave him loads of time in the hospital to meditate.

Terribly unexpected

Jakub, Standa and Vlasta, three friends, finished their bowling session and drove to their favourite place near the centre of Strakonice, southern Bohemia. „We sat there, drank beer, and then we heard somebody shouting ‚death to Jews‘ and ‚Sieg Heil‘,“ Standa says in a perfectly tidy garden in front of his parents' house. Just like the others, he is reluctant to give his full name, fearing retribution. „Jakub called at them to be quiet. They ignored him and kept yelling. So he decided to approach them. I went with him; he's a bit hot-headed, and I didn't want him to get in trouble,“ says Standa.

Jakub decided to talk to the two young men in dark bomber jackets and heavy laced boots. „He asked them if they knew what concentration camps were, and if they realised how much people had suffered there. Perhaps he didn't believe someone who knows about this can hail the Third Reich,“ says Standa. Both couples ribbed each other a bit…