Country Terror
Written by Amelie Sophia Piper, aged 11 (inspired by the story of my great-great-grandfather)
Always Liked Your Freedom? Well, this isn’t the story for you.
There was a town, nothing out of the ordinary. It was a very beautiful town with a unique name: Čáslav. But something happened that changed history. You see, it was a very peaceful town.
A man with an ordinary name, Ladislav Lukeš, worked at a post office. He was the head manager and anything that went through the post office needed to be approved by him.
The suspicion
A vote for a new president was round the corner in another country and one individual caught everybody’s eye, since the country was very poor, exhausted by a previous war. The individual promised to get people back on their feet, they accepted the offer and they decided to vote for him. Little did they know it would lead to a lot of countries being torn down. They only realized when it was too late.
Everything seemed normal until the president sent the people who followed him to the country where we can find Čáslav. Once they got there they asked strange questions like what religion people believed in, but no one questioned it. Surely nothing is wrong. So they thought.
The plan
That was the first red flag, but it wasn’t all. Once they found out everybody’s religion and other details, they started inviting people that caught his eye to work for the president. Or should I say FORCED people to work for him?
When this plan played out, some people caught on, including the postmaster Lukeš.
From his position, he took advantage of his situation. He warned potential victims and informed them they were in danger. As a result they often decided to move to a different place or go into hiding before it was too late.
But someone soon found out. The traitor told on Ladislav who was sent to a concentration camp.
The Truth
Other people found out and they were not happy. They fought against the president. It was a tough war but the president lost. Everyone realized that he was the reason people were found dead long after working for him.
The president knew he was going to be executed. He was found dead. It turns out he killed himself.
People were free again.
What if somebody in the future did the same thing? No one knows until that time comes…
Ladislav was executed September 9 1943 along with other heroes, in Plötzensee, Berlin.
Related
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A Stitch in Time
I was approached by Leah Gaffen from Class Acts, an initiative that works with bilingual children in Czechia, with a particular focus on drama and writing.
