Czechoslovak Political Prisoners - über das Projekt Political ...
Czechoslovak Political Prisoners - über das Projekt Political ... Czechoslovak Political Prisoners - über das Projekt Political ...
luntly about this or that in a way that would make your stomach turn. They only came in the final years, towards the end of the fifties. Then there were prisoners who defrauded money, some of them were innocent, but others were frauds. Gypsies lived there too. Guards never intervened when they were having a fight among themselves. Though the gypsies were never aggressive to us. It seems that you always knew how to take care of yourself in prison and you had no problems speaking out. Except for the hunger strike in 1955, in which you were the last person to hold on, were there some other forms of protests? I have a funny story from Kladno prison. We refused to move because of a fart. There were about 32 women in our cell and our woman commander lived right next to us. It was the only building without bedbugs. Vindictive prisoners lived opposite to our building. The commander used to invite her lover over and one of my inmates used to watch them because it was a cabin made of wood. Once, the lover let out a fart while having sex. The inmate who was watching them got carried away and shouted out loud, “Girls, he farted while doing it!” Of course, the commander heard it. She went home for the weekend. Another commander came and because I was the cell leader at that time, he told me, “Hrušková, this is a list according to which this cell is going to be divided and moved into different cells. This room is going to be vacated and the commander will use it as a storage room.” I replied, “Commander, wait a second, we are not going to move because of a fart, are we?” He gave me a slap in my face and I thanked him for it. He turned and left. He was followed by another commander and he gave me a punch in the face. My nose started to bleed, so I left for the washroom to try and stop the bleeding. He then proceeded to beat up all prisoners from the cell. My nose was broken. In 1962, I had a tumor close to my nose and when I was having it removed by a plastic surgeon, the doctors tried to fix my nose bones but they couldn’t do it. The bones healed up badly and the wound was too old. I suffered from frequent nose bleeding then, especially in hot weather. I still suffer from it today, especially when I am ill with cold. To get back to the revolt, we refused to move then and the following Monday a truck came and all of us were transported to Karlák 27 . We were put into a large sitting room and one by one were questioned. I, as a cell leader, went first. I told them the truth. When the fifth inmate came, the interrogators were already protesting, “We don’t want to hear about the fart again!” and the investigation was dropped. We pinched our fingers, got some paper from somewhere and played cards. After two weeks we were transported back to Kladno. I knew they were going to move us. That was it for the commander, as she was not allowed to bring her lover there anymore. We were moved into a building with bedbugs. The bedbugs liked my blood very much and they were killing me. What was your release like? There was amnesty and they read the decree out for us. We didn’t laugh, weren’t happy at all though. Everybody was wondering why? Well, it was because there had been a rumor going about for some time, because they moved lots of people from the “C” and “D” section to the “B” section in March. At “C” they only left one room with nuns and then murderers and prostitutes came. They emptied a room at “A” for us and we were trying to find out why they had put us together. In the end, we found out that allegedly we were all sentenced for espio- 27 Prison at Charles Square in Prague. Czechoslovak Political Prisoners 55
nage against the Russians. So, I was thinking that the amnesty wouldn’t probably apply to us. Each of us had to have an agreement from their hometown or village saying that they would be accepted back. My brother-in-law, my younger sister’s husband, was a Communist. I would say he was an idealist though, and he trusted the Communists. He was chairman of the village council here in Věstonice and hence he knew when my release would be due. My mother told me that on the day of my release, he came to our place a couple of times to ask whether I had already arrived. They took us to the train station in small groups, one group at a time, because they were probably afraid that we would start a revolution there. Our tickets had been bought in advance and they walked me to the train and off I went straight away. We traveled in our prison uniforms. I came to Brno, but went to see a friend from the prison first and went home after that. I rang the doorbell, my mother came to answer the door and asked me, “Are you just visiting or is this permanent?” I said, ”It looks like I have been released, but I have probation for 10 years.” Then my mother went on to tell me that we would go and visit all our relatives and we would see where we could get a warm welcome. In the end, everybody was glad that I was back, so there was a happy ending to it. You were sentenced at the age of twenty and spent eleven years of your youth in prison. What was the most important thing that kept you so strong? Faith. I was friends with a girl who was imprisoned because of her catholic activities. We used to go for walks together and she taught me a whole mass by heart. That way we were able to hold masses at the prison yard. My friend was even able to sneak in some wafers. We were constantly being persecuted because of these “masses.” Nuns used to do it in a similar way. The jailors found out and we were sent to dark cells. However, during my prison years I kept my faith and I still keep it today. I always say that the mills of God have a nuclear power engine. I grew up in a religious family and that’s why I saw all that as my punishment. My mother warned me not to come back to the Republic, but I wouldn’t listen. I also promised the American I wouldn’t go back to Czechoslovakia again and I betrayed him. My mother sent me a letter in Linz saying that there had been a warrant of arrest issued in my name and urging me not to come back and avoid our forest lodge. I didn’t listen. As I am saying, it was God’s punishment for my imprudence and disobedience. Still, I managed to come to terms with it. I still keep my faith. Apart from the problems with your nose cartilage, do you suffer from any other health conditions as a result of your stay in prison and cruelties during interrogations? As a result of my miscarriage and long imprisonment, I developed a uterine tumour at the age of 45. First, it had been only the size of a nut, but in three months it grew into the size of a baby’s head. I had to undergo a serious operation during which my uterus and one of my ovaries were removed and the other sterilized. That was the end of my hopes of getting pregnant. This was the biggest blow I suffered from the Bolshevik regime. Did you have a chance to meet your American boyfriend later on? No, I did not. I wrote him a letter from prison, but they didn’t send it to him to America. Later, when I was released due to the mass amnesty in 1960, I didn’t know how to contact him. I was being watched and on the top of it, I was on a conditional discharge with ten years probation. So, I bought a book called “Travels through Czechoslovakia” and sent it to him. There was a photo of Věstonice inside on which I wrote in English, “This is my home.” In three months time the book came back though. A few years ago, I eventually managed to trace him down. 56
- Page 6 and 7: Preface This book is part of a larg
- Page 8 and 9: Historical Overview Postwar Develop
- Page 10 and 11: political parties and especially to
- Page 12 and 13: ple’s Militia was established: th
- Page 14 and 15: The whole trial was effected by com
- Page 16 and 17: The incarcerated were beaten in var
- Page 18 and 19: escapee could be seen well. In the
- Page 20 and 21: For women there was a prison in Par
- Page 22 and 23: were people who worshiped moral sta
- Page 24 and 25: Never ending desire for freedom-esc
- Page 26 and 27: was one of the biggest experiences
- Page 28 and 29: Interview with Mrs. Jindřiška Hav
- Page 30 and 31: Murzin 5 , a new commander, was sup
- Page 32 and 33: adio what was happening. Then we we
- Page 34 and 35: to get. She was supposed to give a
- Page 36 and 37: Were you sharing the room with crim
- Page 38 and 39: What things could you get in the ca
- Page 40 and 41: there is joy and peace everywhere a
- Page 42 and 43: her. When one laughed, we all laugh
- Page 44 and 45: Interview with Julie Hrušková Whe
- Page 46 and 47: the Communist Party? Are you a memb
- Page 48 and 49: were looking for me and they had my
- Page 50 and 51: Where did they take you after the t
- Page 52 and 53: some warm water we were happy to be
- Page 54 and 55: ter and we were also allowed to rec
- Page 58 and 59: The children of a relative of mine,
- Page 60 and 61: Interview with Mrs. Květoslava Mor
- Page 62 and 63: Did you have to pay taxes to the Ge
- Page 64 and 65: elatives live there.” That’s wh
- Page 66 and 67: a place called “járek,” where
- Page 68 and 69: a drying house. Then we picked toma
- Page 70 and 71: What was your release like? Well, I
- Page 72 and 73: Czechoslovak Political Prisoners 71
- Page 74 and 75: Interview with Mrs. Drahomíra Stuc
- Page 76 and 77: there were tons of Communists. In o
- Page 78 and 79: a woman like me either. Today I mus
- Page 80 and 81: about 20 years. From Želiezovce I
- Page 82 and 83: How did the institute clothes look
- Page 84 and 85: as well. Just remember how it was d
- Page 86 and 87: Interview with Mrs. Hana Truncová
- Page 88 and 89: more copies. Sometimes we printed t
- Page 90 and 91: Ústí nad Labem to Prague, Pankrá
- Page 92 and 93: prison looks totally different toda
- Page 94 and 95: any names, possibly the first names
- Page 96 and 97: How was it when you returned home?
- Page 98 and 99: Interview with Mr. Augustin Bubník
- Page 100 and 101: What are your memories and what com
- Page 102 and 103: Out of six, was there any who didn
- Page 104 and 105: do with that case could not be pres
luntly about this or that in a way that would make your stomach turn. They only came in the<br />
final years, towards the end of the fifties. Then there were prisoners who defrauded money,<br />
some of them were innocent, but others were frauds. Gypsies lived there too. Guards never<br />
intervened when they were having a fight among themselves. Though the gypsies were never<br />
aggressive to us.<br />
It seems that you always knew how to take care of yourself in prison and you had no problems<br />
speaking out. Except for the hunger strike in 1955, in which you were the last person to<br />
hold on, were there some other forms of protests?<br />
I have a funny story from Kladno prison. We refused to move because of a fart. There were<br />
about 32 women in our cell and our woman commander lived right next to us. It was the only<br />
building without bedbugs. Vindictive prisoners lived opposite to our building. The commander<br />
used to invite her lover over and one of my inmates used to watch them because it was a cabin<br />
made of wood. Once, the lover let out a fart while having sex. The inmate who was watching<br />
them got carried away and shouted out loud, “Girls, he farted while doing it!” Of course, the<br />
commander heard it. She went home for the weekend. Another commander came and because<br />
I was the cell leader at that time, he told me, “Hrušková, this is a list according to which this cell<br />
is going to be divided and moved into different cells. This room is going to be vacated and the<br />
commander will use it as a storage room.” I replied, “Commander, wait a second, we are not<br />
going to move because of a fart, are we?” He gave me a slap in my face and I thanked him for<br />
it. He turned and left. He was followed by another commander and he gave me a punch in the<br />
face. My nose started to bleed, so I left for the washroom to try and stop the bleeding. He then<br />
proceeded to beat up all prisoners from the cell. My nose was broken. In 1962, I had a tumor<br />
close to my nose and when I was having it removed by a plastic surgeon, the doctors tried to<br />
fix my nose bones but they couldn’t do it. The bones healed up badly and the wound was too<br />
old. I suffered from frequent nose bleeding then, especially in hot weather. I still suffer from it<br />
today, especially when I am ill with cold.<br />
To get back to the revolt, we refused to move then and the following Monday a truck came<br />
and all of us were transported to Karlák 27 . We were put into a large sitting room and one<br />
by one were questioned. I, as a cell leader, went first. I told them the truth. When the fifth<br />
inmate came, the interrogators were already protesting, “We don’t want to hear about the<br />
fart again!” and the investigation was dropped. We pinched our fingers, got some paper from<br />
somewhere and played cards. After two weeks we were transported back to Kladno. I knew<br />
they were going to move us. That was it for the commander, as she was not allowed to bring<br />
her lover there anymore. We were moved into a building with bedbugs. The bedbugs liked my<br />
blood very much and they were killing me.<br />
What was your release like?<br />
There was amnesty and they read the decree out for us. We didn’t laugh, weren’t happy at<br />
all though. Everybody was wondering why? Well, it was because there had been a rumor going<br />
about for some time, because they moved lots of people from the “C” and “D” section to<br />
the “B” section in March. At “C” they only left one room with nuns and then murderers and<br />
prostitutes came. They emptied a room at “A” for us and we were trying to find out why they<br />
had put us together. In the end, we found out that allegedly we were all sentenced for espio-<br />
27 Prison at Charles Square in Prague.<br />
<strong>Czechoslovak</strong> <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Prisoners</strong> 55