Simona Hradílková

“There were plenty of activities. We attended court hearing; that was an important thing. Those were court hearings of our friends who were being detained so we traveled and tried to support them. I remember what a shock it was for us back then – or me, anyway – when Pavel Wonka died. One had the feeling that the times were changing but suddenly Pavel Wonka’s death, what a shock… It was clear the war hadn’t been won yet and that such things could still happen. I remember hitchhiking across the whole country to his funeral, and how hard it was for everyone.”

“Suddenly, it all went fine and I was employed in Tisk as a cleaning lady. It was – I know that it sounds ridiculous – I had a dream since I was sixteen or seventeen that I’d live in a courtyard balcony flat and work as a cleaning lady. That I end up in a position where there’s nothing left to take from me. That I’d be immune from all the pressure and coercion. People were losing jobs, losing opportunity for decent housing and so on. From the secret police perspective, I was living so down and out that there was virtually nothing they could do to me and moreover, they had a feeling that I was punished for it all. They thought I was living a miserable life, being so socially down. But I of course saw it very differently and was very content with it.”