Under A Cruel Star: A Life In Prague, 1941-1968

Two months after the liberation, divisions between people remain pronounced. Those who had stolen from Prague’s Jewish community, or had otherwise benefited from the deportation of this community, start to act out: “the innocent became a living reproach and a potential threat to the guilty” (52). It becomes clear that Prague and Czechoslovakia remain a city and country divided, in regard to acceptance of Jewish peoples. Heda states that “while evil grows all by itself, good can be achieved only through hard struggle and maintained only through tireless effort” (52).

After the war, housing is scarce, and this becomes a major issue where the aforementioned divide becomes visible. Heda states that there are “a number of empty apartments in Prague, abandoned by the Germans, beautifully decorated with furniture that had once belonged to Jews” (53). Most often, however, available apartments go to those who had profited during the war. Butchers and grocers are given upgraded apartments ahead of the unhoused.

Luckily, Heda does receive an apartment. She does this by charging into the housing authority office and demanding housing from the chairman. She says she will sleep in the office if an apartment cannot be found for her. She begins to take her personal items out—a nightgown, some bread, her soap.