Hedvika Heráková

• Testimony abstract

  During the War

  Hedvika Herakova's first husband was taken [by transport on 28 January 1944 (ed.)] together with their four-year-old son to a gypsy camp[1] where they both died. As she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, she herself escaped the decreed transport from the village of Újezd where they had a house. She therefore ended up in custody in the prison of the police headquarters in Brno, and was taken from there to the municipal maternity hospital. After giving birth[2], she was again taken to prison and after a month she was released with her new-born son. She says that her son thus twice saved her from suffering, and perhaps even from death. She named him Ivan after the Red Army soldiers who were already approaching and bringing with them the hope of rescue.

  • [1] It is not stated where.
  • [2] On 17 February 1944. (ed.)

  How to cite abstract

  Abstract of testimony from: NEČAS, Ctibor, ed. Nemůžeme zapomenout = Našťi bisteras : nucená táborová koncentrace ve vyprávěních romských pamětníků. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 1994, 140. Testimonies of the Roma and Sinti. Project of the Prague Forum for Romani Histories (Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences), https://www.romatestimonies.com/testimony/hedvika-herakova-roz-danielova (accessed 4/27/2024)

• Origin of Testimony

  A free transcript of the narrative was made on 2 April 1977 by Ctibor Nečas.

• Where to find this testimony

  Ctibor Nečas (ed.): Nemůžeme zapomenout – Našťi bisteras: nucená táborová koncentrace ve vyprávěních romských pamětníků (We Cannot Forget - Našt'i bisteras: Forced labour in concentration camps in the narratives of Romani survivors)