“If I had been a boy, I would have been shot…” Part 5
In Czech Books we hear the fifth part of Jaroslava Skleničková’s moving memoirs, “If I had been a boy, I would have been shot…”, read by the Czech-British actress, Veronika Hyks. After the assassination of the Nazi Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia, the “Butcher of Prague”, Reinhard Heydrich, the Czech village of Lidice was chosen for complete destruction on the night from 9-10 June 1942. Jaroslava – or Jaří – was among 184 women from the village sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. David Vaughan gives us the story so far.
The women of Lidice are gradually getting used to life in Ravensbrück, making friends with prisoners in other parts of the camp and other work groups. Jaří finds herself made to do a variety of jobs, and she comes to learn how important solidarity among the prisoners can be. She also begins to understand the arbitrariness and cruelty of the prison guards and the importance of not attracting their attention. Veronika Hyks reads.
