Literary archive acquires suitcase belonging to Milena Jesenská

The Literary Archive of the Museum of Czech Literature has acquired an authentic suitcase belonging to journalist, writer and translator Milena Jesenská, who died in the Ravensbrück concentration camp in 1944. The institution announced the acquisition at a press conference on Thursday.

Other recent additions include the literary estates of poet Jiří Kuběna and poet Vladimíra Čerepková. Artistic acquisitions include the Japanese collection of Sigismund Bouška, literary works by artist Kateřina Černá, and illustrations by early 20th-century caricaturist Zdeněk Kratochvíl.

According to archivist Petr Kotyk, the suitcase was donated by Arno Pařík of a Prague Jewish family and has been in the family since 1940, when his mother Božena Paříková brought it home from prison at Prague’s Pankrác. Jesenská had exchanged her smaller suitcase for the larger one before being taken to Dresden for interrogation.