Veronika Jonášová
Veronika Jonášová (b. 1982) is a journalist. She studied Journalism and Media Studies at Charles University in Prague and Sciences Po in Paris. She worked for ten years as a TV reporter and presenter. She also lived couple of years in Berlin, where she worked as a freelance writer for Czech media, and as a screenwriter for film documentaries for Czech Television. In addition, she has written two books about the city: The Story of Berlin and The Wall Between Us. Currently she lives back in Prague and works for Forbes magazine as a staff writer.
Ada
October 2022, 264 pages
Available material: English summary
The reality of the infamous internment camp in the eyes of a young journalist
Anastázie is a young journalist who is far from happy. Her boyfriend just left her, and she has been humiliated at work. She needs to figure herself out, so she decides to visit her grandmother in the city of Olomouc. Unfortunately, she knows little about her journey into a past much more distant than her childhood. She discovers how important it is to find her roots if she wants to stand on solid ground.
The novel takes inspiration from the fate of Heda Müller, the author’s German great-great-grandmother, whose family spent May of 1945 in the horrific, infamous internment camp for Germans in Nové Hodolany nicknamed Hodolany Hell.
The story, which gradually unfolds before the astonished eyes of Anastázie, previously unaware of this reality, is interspersed with contemporary documents: the memories of displaced Germans from Olomouc, the experiences of those interned, and the stories of the author’s grandmother. This reality is an inseparable part of our history, and we must remember it.
English summary
