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

At the beginning of 1952, food and goods shortages still plague the city. The relationship between Heda and her husband continues to deteriorate. One day, Heda decides that she will make a radical change. She will infuse her life with hope again. She plans to exercise more, she puts on music, and she buys flowers for her home. She eagerly awaits Rudolf’s arrival that night.

Rudolf, however, does not come home. Around one in the morning, the doorbell rings, and Heda learns that Rudolf has been arrested. Men search her house. They confiscate many documents, including Heda’s private diary, believing the documents contain secret codes. Although Heda is frightened, she realizes she must remain calm to convince the men of Rudolf’s innocence. She attempts to contact influential people she knows, but no one will take her call.

Heda receives advice from a friend named Pavel. When she travels to his house, she realizes the secret State Security police are following her. Pavel’s only advice is to “[d]o everything and expect nothing” (74). He tells her to be persistent in her efforts to communicate with her husband’s captors. Pavel suspects that Heda’s home has been bugged, and he warns her to be careful. He, too, is eventually arrested. Heda finds herself in a familiar situation, where everyone is hesitant to help and protective of their own survival.

Heda hires a lawyer for her husband, even though she doubts he will be of much use. Soon, a letter from her husband arrives, but it doesn’t communicate much, only that he is “well” and “doesn’t want her to worry” (119). A month later, she is fired from her job. Old friends will no longer communicate with her. Heda hurries to find another job, as being unemployed is illegal, and she finds herself working for low pay at a machine shop. In dire financial straits, she decides to move to a cheaper apartment. The Ministry of Foreign Trade will not allow her to move, however, until Rudolf’s case is “resolved,” because they want to keep the apartment under their control. Heda works tirelessly to earn enough money. At night, she continues to write correspondence on behalf of her husband. She makes it “an iron rule never to work on Sunday afternoons” and to take her son, Ivan, to “the outskirts of Prague and walk in the woods” (122).

She and Rudolf are allowed to write to each other once a month. In these letters, no details of his situation are mentioned. Instead, they reminisce. One night, an older woman comes to her door. She tells Heda that Rudolf’s file is marked with the letter S, which Heda later finds out stands for the Slánský Case.

Heda has become completely excluded from public life in Prague. Fifty thousand people have been jailed. In one letter, Rudolf writes that, at night, he can hear a nightingale sing. Using this information, Heda tries to guess where he is being held captive. Later, she finds out he was in the prison at Ruzyn, “one of the most notorious Nazi torture chambers” (126).

Rudolf’s cousin Marie offers to take Ivan to the countryside on vacation with her children. While Ivan is away, Heda learns that Rudolf has been expelled from the Communist Party. His expulsion, she knows, is a bad sign. Heda’s neighbors treat her rudely. One afternoon, two people come to inspect the apartment and take inventory. Heda faints, thinking that her husband has been killed. When she recovers, she finds out that he is still awaiting trial.

While working in the machine shop, Heda experiences a blinding pain. She stays in bed the following day, dreading the idea of being sick; she can’t afford to miss work. She drags herself to work and writes a letter for the company newsletter protesting working conditions. She is offered a position to work for the newsletter regularly. Now, a few days a month, she will not have to do back-breaking work while standing.

Her lawyer notifies her that her bank passbooks have been recovered, which means that Heda can afford medical attention. It is incredibly difficult to get a hospital referral, however, so Heda, unaware of the true nature of her illness, feigns appendicitis to receive treatment. Although she has been ill for six weeks, she is incorrectly diagnosed with the flu. Finally, she is taken to the hospital. While in the hospital, in a haze of morphine, she is notified that Rudolf’s trial is to take place soon.