Read more
Zusatztext "...stands as an important testimony to tragic times..." (The Prague Post! July 2006) Informationen zum Autor Ivan Margolius was born in Prague, where he began studying architecture at the Czech Institute of Technology. In 1966 he arrived in the United Kingdom and completed his training, before practising at Foster and Partners, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and Yorke Rosenberg Mardall. He is the author and co-author of many award winning historical, architectural and design publications, including Prague - a guide to twentieth-century architecture, Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka, Art + Architecture, Architects + Engineers = Structures and Czech Inspiration. He is the son of JUDr Rudolf Margolius, who was murdered as a result of the infamous Slánský Trial in Prague. Klappentext When Ivan Margolius was fourteen he learned the truth about his father, Rudolf. He had not died on a trip abroad as Ivan had been told as a young child, but had been executed following a staged show trial. Rudolf, a minister in the Czechoslovak Government and a survivor of Hitler's concentration camps, had sought to create a better world under Communism, but became a victim of the tyranny of Stalin. The story of the Margolius family reflects the history of the city of Prague in the centre of Europe - surviving the First World War to enjoy a brief spell of inter-war democracy, before suffering again under Nazi occupation, the Second World War and the Third Reich extermination of the Jews. After Allied victory came the Communist takeover, Stalinist purges and Soviet occupation before democracy and freedom at the end of the 1980s. The Margolius family lived through the upheaval, suffering and triumphs of the last century's tumultuous times. These were events that Ivan's mother, Heda, was the only one of her family to survive - the rest of her own and her parents' generations were brutally murdered. This family's history is an inspirational and moving account of Europe at a time of turmoil. Yet, despite the anguish, there is hope to be found: acts of human kindness in the midst of suffering and a belief in the sanctity of human spirit, dignity and freedom. "...stands as an important testimony to tragic times..." (The Prague Post, July 2006) Zusammenfassung Reflections of Prague is the story of how a Czech Jewish family become embroiled in the most tragic and tumultuous episodes of the twentieth century. Through their eyes we see the history of their beloved Prague, a unique European city, and the wider, political forces that tear their lives apart. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements ix 1. Journey with my Lost Father 1 2. Lonely Times 16 3. The Safety of Bratislava 23 4. Rudolf 30 5. Heda 41 6. Rudolf: Into Adulthood 53 7. Heda: Life's Endings and Beginnings 60 8. Between the Wars 67 9. An Impotent Army 78 10. Chances of Survival 83 11. Transport to Lödz¿ 99 12. A Stumble out of Auschwitz-Birkenau 111 13. Return to Prague 117 14. From Idealism into Self-Destruction 127 15. Politics Taking Over 141 16. Stranded in the Forcefully Distorted Economy 147 17. The Soviets Arrive 151 18. Journeys of Misunderstanding 156 19. Towards Manufactured Guilt 161 20. Ways into Detention 174 21. To Nowhere 188 22. In the Name of the Party 197 23. Making Trade 202 24. Ruzyne¿ Interlude 208 25. The Theatre of Absurdity 219 26. A Trip to the Land of No Return 234 27. The Last Journey 241 28. Sinking Deeper 246 29. Towards Beauty 253 30. A Walk from School 259 31. Youthful Dreams 267 32. The Emergence of Truth 274 33. Living Anew 287 Appendices: Families and Friends, Artists and Writers, Defendants, Politicians and Interrogators 302 ...
