Local history, day 1: Růžena Kamarádová
I’ve always liked to dig around for stories about the places I’ve lived in. And honestly, the more obscure stories, the better.
And so one day I browsed the ‘net late at night and discovered some new stories about my base of operations, the location of my lair, the city district of Hejčín.
Apart from being the oldest city district of Olomouc (well, the oldest village that became a city district to be precise) and having some gnarly legends about green-eyed beasts and water goblins, a couple of names came up. Not surprisingly, most of them are men, but three names are female and their stories I would love to tell.
The first name that I am going to introduce is the name Růžena Kamarádová.
Hers is a story of injustice, persecution, and human evil, but amongst all that, a story of Růžena’s incredible resilience and fire within.
TW: political imprisonment, mentions of rape, torture, violence, war, injury
Note: I have used Wikipedia as a main source, since there is an unsurprising lack of other sources in english.
Růžena (née Sedláčková) was born in 1942 in Olomouc.
Her youth was defined by a passion for the gymnastics organization/movement Sokol and the adherence to the ideals of democracy and the “teachings” of the first Czechoslovak president T. G. Masaryk.
During World War II., however, her life ground to a halt when she was not allowed to pursue higher education by the quickly advancing Nazi Party. Instead, she was forced to work in a factory that produced a lice-killing powder for german soldiers. After the powder destroyed the tips of her fingers, she was deployed to an explosives factory.
When WWII was over, Růžena was sent home, to Hejčín, to witness the “liberation” of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army. Troops of rowdy foreign soldiers, drunk on victory and alcohol broke into people’s houses, pillaged their belongings, and even raped women and girls. It left a bitter taste in Růžena’s mouth. Once the Communist Party started seizing power in Czechoslovakia, Růžena was none too happy about it.
She wasn’t afraid to voice her displeasure with the Party. During the 1948 Všesokolský Slet, the attending Sokolové paraded through the city of Prague, chanting anti-communist slogans, and Růžena was among them. The Party was already arresting people during the parades and it didn’t take long for the StB to come for her.
In September 1948 she was arrested, interrogated, and tortured by State Security. Růžena didn’t make it easy for the State Security agents interrogating her - at one point she took to attacking her torturers with a chair until they had to put her in a straitjacket.
In a public show trial, she was accused of espionage, based on a letter to an American manufacturer of nylon stockings. The stockings were highly sought after in the Eastern Bloc, and so Růžena ordered a package of them to give away to other women. State Security found the package during a search of Růžena’s apartment and labeled it as a spy correspondence. As a result, she was condemned to seven years in women’s prison.
As a political prisoner, she wasn’t given any favors - quite the opposite. As Růžena herself recalled in an interview for Memory of Nations, she was treated brutally by the custodians and other inmates alike. The prisoners were denied proper food, deprived of sleep, and forced to work long hours in less than humane conditions. They weren’t even provided menstruation hygiene products and medical attention. When she got sick, the prison doctor advised prayer. They were also forced to work twelve hours shifts in the laundry or in the field, every day, no exception.
On top of all that, she had to be constantly wary of other prisoners snitching on her, since even the smallest transgression could result in even further restriction of the already meager food supply.
After three years, Růžena was released from prison. With her health severely compromised, her physical convalescence lasted over a year. Her ordeal was, however, not over just yet. For four more years, she was under constant surveillance of State Security. Wherever she went, an StB agent followed. Every day she lived with the fear of being arrested again.
Thankfully, that day never came, and not for the lack of trying from the State Security. These days, Růžena lives in Olomouc in peaceful retirement. She summarizes her experiences thusly - “I’m not angry at those people, but I’ll never forget what they did to me. I just can’t.”
For more stories like this one, please visit Memory of Nations and consider donating so their incredible labor of love can continue. The people who tell the stories are disappearing, but their testimonies don’t and shouldn’t have to.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
- George Santayana
