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Oral history interview with Hana Maria Pravda

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1995.A.1285.31 | RG Number: RG-50.149.0031

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    Oral history interview with Hana Maria Pravda

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Hana Maria Pravda, born in January 29, 1918 in Prague, Czech Republic, describes her family; her childhood in Prague; the history of Jews in Czechoslovakia; her education; the reaction to the Munich Agreement in 1938; Czech patriotism; the attitude towards the German speaking population of Czechoslovakia; the reaction of the Czech population to the German invasion in 1939; the confiscation of her family home; moving to a village with her new husband; being betrayed to the Gestapo by a neighbor; her arrest by the Gestapo; the attitude of Czechs to the German occupation; Czech collaboration with Germans; being an inmate of Theresienstadt concentration camp from 1942 to 1944; the journey to the camp; her attitude towards the prospect of imprisonment; conditions in the camp; her sense of optimism; the medical care; entertainment in the camp; punishment for those who tried to document their time in camp; a visit by the Red Cross; relations between German and Czech inmates; medical problems; volunteering to leave the camp; being an inmate in Auschwitz concentration camp from October 1944 to 1945; the cattle truck journey to the camp; advice given to new arrivals by inmates; the selection procedure; the attitude towards Germans; showering and head shaving; not receiving a tattoo; receiving clothes; her knowledge of the gas chambers; the reaction to the Allied bombing; survival techniques; her selection for work in the Krupps factory; the nature of her work; treatment by German guards; the German use of dogs; the execution of an escapee; health problems and lice; relations between inmates; the death march away from the camp in 1945; conditions during the march; the killing of her friend by SS guards; escaping from the march on January 29, 1945; betrayal by Hitler Youth after escaping from march; how she was allowed to escape from the march for second time by an SS guard; receiving aid from Russian forced laborers; being advised to go to Poland; taking refuge in a school; delousing organized by Russians; returning to Czechoslovakia; the impact of her experience on her religious beliefs; and why she and not others survived.
    Interviewee
    Hana M. Pravda
    Date
    interview:  1985 October 10

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Extent
    3 sound cassettes (90 min.).

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Restrictions on use. Permission to copy and/or use recordings in any production must be granted by the Imperial War Museums.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Holder of Originals
    Imperial War Museum
    Provenance
    The interview was conducted by the Imperial War Museum as part of their retrospective oral history interview program. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired a copy of the interview with Hana Maria Pravda from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995.
    Record last modified:
    2023-11-16 08:17:26
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn510839

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