Members of the State Security disguised themselves as priests

Mrs. Honová arrived to the prison of Uherské Hradiště in the year 1950. The interrogators had her watched by a female informant and they were trying to trick her with various traps. Some of her fellow female prisoners who went to confession, unknowingly confessed to members of the State Security. “They disguised themselves according to our liturgical calendar. For the Easter period a particular clerical garment is worn, during the Christmas period a different garment is worn, but they didn’t know these distinctions well. Some of the women who were still under investigation, had been in the confessional. But then they realized they were deceived and the news spread quickly. Nobody would go there anymore,” recalls Honová. The prison administration had quite peculiar ways of tormenting its prisoners. For example with food. Honová states: “For Christmas we got salted herrings, because you get very thirsty after eating them, and we had little water. The water in the jug was meant for both washing and drinking, it was necessary to use it very sparingly. They let us go in the showers after several months.” The female prisoners tried to make their stay in the cells more pleasant by singing, at least. But it could not be too loud. “The wardens didn’t like that, they would kick our doors. We couldn’t sing too loudly, but we did sing. At the time it was the Jubilee, (Summer of Mercy), so, we prayed the Jubilee,” commented Honová.