Czechoslovak Political Prisoners - über das Projekt Political ...

When did you have the trial?
The court trial, which lasted for three days, took place at Uherské Hradiště. It was secret so
my mom wasn’t present. For a little while after the trial I stayed in Hradiště where I worked
in the laundry and then my hands started to be sore. So then they put me in the kitchen to
peel potatoes, which was nice because we actually got something to eat. From bad food
I had festers all over my body. I was used to everything that was homemade and there all
kinds of unnatural preservatives and artificial things were added. In Uherské Hradiště we
stayed about a month and then they took me to Pankrác 13 . I only stayed there for a couple
of nights, but I have some really ugly memories from that. I slept upstairs in a double-room
and dogs kept howling all night. I was looking out the window and girls were saying that
there would be executions again. There on the square where the executions were held,
were also resting mothers with their babies who were born in prison. We were at Pankrác
for three nights and then we went to Chrudim for a short while, and then finally they took
us back to Pardubice. I came there in 1954 and stayed there until 1963 when I was released.
They put me into a sewing workshop right away although I didn’t understand it at all. Anyways,
I quickly got into it and the sewing machine quickly became my friend, but the main
thing was that in Pardubice we were living so freely. After one of us had a visit, she would
share it with everyone. I must tell you that we all got along really well there because we
were all of the same opinion and frame of mind. We knew about those who were snitching
and we ignored them, for example I didn’t talk to them at all. I had a really nice circle of
friends around me.
What was your arrival to Pardubice like?
After our arrival we went for a check-up that was done by a Doctor-Prisoner Blanka Picková.
I went to section A and there were about 16 others girls, but no one paid attention to me.
My accomplice was put to section B, so I was completely alone and didn’t know anyone. It
was a three story building that had to be made lower after the detonation in Semtín. 14 There
were twenty-four girls in the same room with bunk-beds. I came with my bag like some kind
of bag-lady. They just pointed to the bed where I should sleep. On the bunk-beds I was always
sleeping up on top because I was younger. None of the Czech girls paid attention to me
there, they were all lying on the bunks and resting. Then it was 2 o’clock and I was still sitting
there like a bag-lady. My bundle was still next to me, since I still didn’t know how to fold my
blankets or anything because still, no one showed me how. All of a sudden, Elfy Tandler came
up to me and she started asking questions and realized I was really hungry. She brought me
bread, grease, cheese, and jam. There we were already able to take bread without limits. She
was really nice to me and she even made my bed. She was really treating me well. She was
a German, but spoke Czech really well. I will never forget about that. She wasn’t a vindictive
prisoner 15 , but a political one. Then after the other Germans came she sometimes talked to
them rather to us, but I didn’t obstruct her. Afterwards she always came back to me. When
they released her, she married a Czech and moved to Frankfurt. Even my daughter visited her
in Germany later.
13 Pankrác – one of the biggest and well known prison in Prague.
14 Semtín – a town close to the prison where was a factory.
15 Vindictive prisoners – prisoners sentenced on a basis of “vindictive decrees” for cooperation and collaboration with
Nazi Germany. A state prisoner was also called a political prisoner, then there was a category of criminal prisoners.
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