Czechoslovak Political Prisoners - über das Projekt Political ...

any names, possibly the first names, so we usually talked about flowers, plants, and domestic
animals. And letters? We were not allowed to have paper or a pen, but we were allowed the
letters. They gave us A5 size paper with the camp’s letterhead. We called all the letters essays,
because it was usual to start writing about your fantasies or we wrote a whole letter about
a bird. On the other hand it was also important what the writers told you. It was actually better
when they did not tell us much because we were absolutely powerless and unable to help.
I got letters from my family and my fiancé. Those were love letters, which were censored
twice. First in the prison where they were sent from and then in the prison where they were
sent to. Talking about Pardubice, I must mention a big wooden box. We were supposed to put
letters there we already read but the prison officers had no chance to keep up with it because
the letters had no numbers or anything. They went through censorship and were opened when
we got them. Then we had three days to read them and had to put them into the wooden box.
I had never put there any letter from my fiancé. I just could not do it. I had them hidden on
my body or behind a beam. It felt like reading a very old calendar because the things written
in the letter were already things of the past, but they were handwritten and I could still feel
a kind of fluid coming out of it.
What were your relationships among the female prisoners like?
I think it was easier for us than for those people outside. We were there together. There
were only a few criminals, most of us were state prisoners and I swear we never argued. We
sometimes had different opinions on things, but we always somehow discussed that and were
convinced or not, but we never argued. Even the fact that we called each other terms of endearment
when we did not know the name shows a lot. We all had very good relationships.
What was the life in the prison in Pardubice like?
We were constantly at risk there. It was forbidden to go to a different cell or block. Sometimes
we wanted to talk, let the others read a letter or we did some craftwork and needed
instructions. Many beautiful things originated there. We did everything secretly. For example
we boiled horse’s bone until it was white, then secretly got a knife from somewhere and kept
carving for weeks. Unfortunately it was suddenly all gone. The prison officers probably took
some of those things as souvenirs. There were bracelets, embroidery, etc. and it was all gone.
Each of us could do a different craft. Then we would give our products to each other at some
special occasions, for example at Christmas. Not only soup or biscuits from the shop 8 , but also
handmade things worked as nice and precious gifts. We always hid our presents in different
places and lost them during searches.
Many prisoners, not only men, but also women, remember so-called prison university, would
you be able to remember it as well?
Yes, those were walks in the yard. We would make groups according to our own will. We
used to walk in our groups. Each of us knew different things and there were also women who
were lecturers at universities. Some of us were deeply religious and were able to say long
prayers, which I would have had read from a prayer book. So we usually joined the group,
which would teach you something or where you talked about things, which made you forget
about the prison. We used to walk around pretending that we were talking, but one of us
usually gave a lecture on various topics. When we came out of the prison we used to say, “The
8 A small shop where prisoners could buy basic hygienic things for prison money and some food in limited selection.
Czechoslovak Political Prisoners 93