{"product_id":"reflections-of-prague-isbn-9780470022191","title":"Reflections of Prague","description":"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. Their moving story traces the major events, turmoil, oppression and triumphs of Europe through the last hundred years – from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the First World War; from the vibrant artistic and intellectual life of Prague in the times of Kafka, the Capek Brothers and Masaryk to years of hunger in a Polish ghetto and the concentration camps of Hitler; from the tyrannous rule of Stalin to the rekindled hopes of Dubcek and the subsequent Soviet occupation to liberation under Havel. Told from Ivan’s perspective, it is a poignant but uplifting tale that tells of life lived with purpose and conviction, in the face of personal suffering and sacrifice.  \u003cp\u003e‘A remarkable book. This archetypical story of the twentieth century is intertwined with an almost stream-of-consciousness narrative of the history of the Czechs, of Prague, interspersed with samples of exquisite poetry by great contemporary poets. So the narrative flows like Eliot’s sweet Thames full of the debris of tragic lives, of horrors, of moments of beauty and testimonies of love – all against the backdrop of man’s inhumanity.’ \u003ci\u003eJosef Škvorecký\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘A poignant and vivid \u003ci\u003emémoire\u003c\/i\u003e of a child searching for traces of his father, lost in the murky ideologies of post war Central Europe.  An engrossing book.’ \u003ci\u003eSir John Tusa\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Journey with my Lost Father 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Lonely Times 16\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. The Safety of Bratislava 23\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Rudolf 30\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. Heda 41\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6. Rudolf: Into Adulthood 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7. Heda: Life’s Endings and Beginnings 60\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8. Between the Wars 67\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9. An Impotent Army 78\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10. Chances of Survival 83\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11. Transport to Lo¤dz¤ 99\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12. A Stumble out of Auschwitz-Birkenau 111\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13. Return to Prague 117\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14. From Idealism into Self-Destruction 127\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e15. Politics Taking Over 141\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e16. Stranded in the Forcefully Distorted Economy 147\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e17. The Soviets Arrive 151\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e18. Journeys of Misunderstanding 156\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e19. Towards Manufactured Guilt 161\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e20. Ways into Detention 174\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e21. To Nowhere 188\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e22. In the Name of the Party 197\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e23. Making Trade 202\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e24. Ruzyne› Interlude 208\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e25. The Theatre of Absurdity 219\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e26. A Trip to the Land of No Return 234\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e27. The Last Journey 241\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e28. Sinking Deeper 246\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e29. Towards Beauty 253\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e30. A Walk from School 259\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e31. Youthful Dreams 267\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e32. The Emergence of Truth 274\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e33. Living Anew 287\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppendices: Families and Friends, Artists and Writers, Defendants, Politicians and Interrogators 302\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes 308\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 311\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"... stands as an important testimony to tragic times....\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Prague Post\u003c\/i\u003e, July 2006)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"It's a memorable story which stays in the mind long after the last page has been turned.\" (\u003ci\u003eNottingham Evening Post\u003c\/i\u003e, December 2006)\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIvan Margolius\u003c\/b\u003e 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 \u0026amp; Merrill, and Yorke Rosenberg Mardall. He is the author and co-author of many award winning historical, architectural and design publications, including \u003ci\u003ePrague – a guide to twentieth-century architecture, Tatra – The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka, Art + Architecture, Architects + Engineers = Structures and Czech Inspiration.\u003c\/i\u003e He is the son of JUDr Rudolf Margolius, who was murdered as a result of the infamous Slánský Trial in Prague.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989928788197,"sku":"NP9780470022191","price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780470022191.jpg?v=1761785942","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/reflections-of-prague-isbn-9780470022191","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}