Political Imprisonment in Communist Czechoslovakia
From 1948 to 1989, Czechoslovakia faced a tragic political movement as they became a
communist country under totalitarian rule for more than 40 years. Czechosslovakian citizens’
seizure of power was completely taken away and the impact of the communist area greatly
affected these citizens’ lives as well as oppressed all aspects of society, creating a culture of fear.
Due to Czechoslovakia being a Soviet Bloc country, this culture of fear created was in line with
the political domination of the Soviet Union which held extreme control over the population,
ultimately limiting the power of the residents. As a result, the people who did not act in
accordance to the assimilated ideologies of the communist party were spied on, personally
interrogated, and oftentimes even had their homes searched for contraband. The drastic events
rarely fit the crime committed. For example, home searches were often done to look for items
such as literature that the communist party deemed illegal or personal interrogations occurred to
ensure a citizen was not planning on fleeing Czechoslovakia. This strict grip the government had
on its people hindered their ability to talk openly about how they really felt and created a barrier
between “public and private life.” For those who disregarded the communist rules, they were
imprisoned for reasons that were not that detrimental. For example, they would be punished for
signing petitions or filing complaints. Additionally, simply expressing your private life ideas to
the wrong person could have resulted in serious sanctions. Furthermore, if caught doing
something extreme (in the eyes of the government) such as trying to flee the country, your life
could be in danger. As social and living conditions continued to worsen during this era, many
people still decided to speak out and act upon the horrible rule they were under. Consequently,
numerous people became subject to political prisonment, which is the premise of this paper.
Political imprisonment is the result of someone who has been imprisoned due to their
political beliefs or actions. Thousands of people underwent the horrors of inhumane living
conditions during imprisonment and were also sent to concentration camps because they were
considered dissident by the communist regime. “About 75 000 people passed through the camps
in the Jáchymov area, of whom 45 000 – 50 000 were actually political prisoners,” said František
Šedivý, vice-chair of the Confederation of Political Prisoners (Konfederace politických vězňů –
KPV). The Czechoslovakian prison system was particular with the uranium working camps,
located by Slavkov and Příbram, however the majority of the camps were at Jáchymov.
Conditions of the camps were very cruel as prisoners were tasked to tough work with high
probability of getting injured, they were exposed to menacing radioactivity from working in
uranium mines, the food was not substantial, and the cold temperatures were often unbearable
during the cooler months. Aside from the tough living conditions, prisoners were also beaten,
bullied, and treated poorly by the guards.
To assist in the understanding of these atrocities that occurred, an organization was
founded in Prague called the Political Prisoners Association. The association’s main goal is to
gather, and spread the message about the harsh history the political prisoners of Czechoslovakia
went through. The approach they take is to share interviews of political prisoners to as many
people as possible. In the end, they hope that the impact the testimonies of the political prisoners
have on the reader will resenaint with how serious issue this was. The directors of the Political
Prisoners Association want tragedies such as the political imprisonments to never occur in the
future, and therefore they think publishing stories via the world wide web and literature is the
best possible way to spread information on the issue. The Association feels as if it is their
responsibility to shed light on the suffrage that the past generations went through. If awareness
is not brought to the subject, the probability it happens again increases. The Political Prisoners
Association interviewed Julie Hruskova, whose story I chose to focus on. The time she spent as
a political prisoner exemplifies how unjust the treatment of Czechoslovakian political prisoners
were.
Julie Hrušková took part in helping with illegal border crossings in the communist
Czechoslovakia. She was indicted for espionage and later sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
During her imprisonment she miscarried due to a brutal interrogation in Brno. On May 9, 1960,
she was released. To better understand Julie Hrušková’s journey, I will dive deeper into her
history. The following information is based on the Political Prisoners Association’s interview
with Julie Hrušková. Hrušková’s father was a gamekeeper for the Earl of Trauttmansdorff, a
nobility ranking. Because of this, her house was in the middle of nowhere about 30 minutes
