• 02/05/2022
  • By wizewebsite
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He carries me on his wings with a difficult world. Fateful Women: Otýlia Davidová, sister of Franz Kafka<

Guest: Petr Balajka Performers: Taťjana Medvecká, Antonie Talacková, Andrea Elsnerová, Zdeněk Maryška, Martin MyšičkaPrepared by: Ivana Chmel Denčevová, Hynek PekárekSound Master: Jiří Benák, David DibelkaMusic: Antonín SchindlerDirected by: Michal BurešPremiere: 6. 11. 2021

Otýlia Davidová was born on October 29, 1892 in Prague to the Jewish family of Hermann Kafka and his wife Julie. The couple ran a haberdashery wholesaler. Of the four children, Otelia was the youngest.

After studying at the agricultural school, Ottla went to Siremi to her brother-in-law's farm. Her brother Franz Kafka also stayed with her for several months. "They were physically very similar," says guest of the show Petr Balajka, the author of the short story Ottla. "But as a human being, they were very different. Thanks to that, however, Kafka liked his sister the most. She had qualities that he lacked because of which he suffered and suffered from inferiority. "

At that time, Franz Kafka was an employee of a workers' accident insurance company, where he was one of the best employees. "But for him, it was a martyrdom that kept him from writing. On the contrary, Ottla was realized in Siřem and provided her brother with shelter and peace for his work there. "

Otla really literally carries me on his wings in a difficult world. Franz Kafka

Poor goose

Na svých křídlech mne nese obtížným světem. Osudové ženy: Otýlie Davidová, sestra Franze Kafky

It was fatal for Otto to meet Josef David, an employee of the savings bank, and later the secretary of the insurance association. "He was a doctor of law, he had experience in England, where he lived for a while. But it was mainly a Czech and also a falcon and a great patriot. But the parents were not very enthusiastic about the non-Jewish suitor, "says the writer.

Nevertheless, in

a wedding took place in July 1920 and two daughters were born soon. "But the marriage was not happy because there was a clash of characters. David was furious, cold, while Ottla was sensitive. The daughters later recalled that fierce quarrels had broken out between their parents. In addition, David was very kind. "

She was not the case for a quiet girl. She was more of a savage. She was the only person I know who got a three out of manners. Daughter Věra Saudková

Race abuse

During the Protectorate, the Nuremberg Laws began to be applied in Prague as well. Although Ottla was to some extent protected by a mixed marriage, her children and her husband's position were at risk. "Mixed marriages were considered an insult to race. Ottla therefore proposed a divorce, which actually took place in February 1940. In this way, she protected her husband and her two daughters, but at the same time she set out for fate. "

In August 1942, she was deported to the Terezín ghetto. "Deportations have affected her entire family. Both of her sisters had already been transported to Lodz the previous year, where they had died. "

Orphan care

In Terezín, Ottla worked as a caregiver and nurse for imprisoned children. "In August 1943, a transport of 1,200 Polish Jewish children arrived in Terezín from the town of Bělostok, where the Nazis severely suppressed the Jewish uprising. In Terezín, these children were isolated and 53 nurses were selected for them. Ottla was one of them, "adds Balajka.

With the help of a Czech gendarme, Ottle sometimes managed to smuggle letters she wrote to her daughters.

In the last of them, he hopes to leave for Switzerland, where the children were to be exchanged for German prisoners. Instead, the nurses and children were taken to the Auschwitz extermination camp, where they were all murdered by one on October 7, 1943.