Woman Political Prisoner in Fascist Slovakia

Mária Janšáková’s 1939 memoir offers a rare, deeply personal account of political repression in wartime Slovakia.

Detailing her imprisonment in the Ilava detention camp, she records the harsh physical and psychological conditions of daily life – from solitary confinement in mouldy cells to interrogation routines. Her attentive portrayals of fellow prisoners bridge their civilian identities ...