PERSECUTED
A shocking form of female dissidents persecution was physical and psychological violence by the communist secret police. Women also became targets of sexual harassment or threats of rape.
Janina Wehrstein had her head smashed by militiamen, requiring seventeen stitches. Krystyna Kolasińska was beaten during the strike and left bleeding and unconscious in the snow. Henryka Krzywonos miscarried as a result of being beaten during a house search. Elżbieta Szczepańska began bleeding during interrogation in her fifth month of pregnancy; her prematurely born daughter died.
Zina Freundová was attacked by secret police officers at her home during the night. They tore her nightgown, groped her, threatened to rape her, cut her hair, and beat her. Zdena Tominová was first strangled by an unknown attacker and then had her head banged against the pavement, causing her to suffer a concussion. These were targeted attacks as part of Operation Sanitation, which aimed to force dissidents, especially signatories of Charter 77, to leave Czechoslovakia permanently.
Mária Kéryová: „The officers were running around, swinging their truncheons, slamming doors and shouting: ‚What do they want? Do they need a demonstration? Don’t they have anything to eat? They should be glad they live in peace, we should beat them up properly!‘ (…) „First, I had to empty everything out of my purse and bag. She rummaged through everything. When she found nothing else of interest except the candle, she ordered me to undress. First to the waist, then completely. I even had to lift my legs so she could see the soles of my feet. It was humiliating and disgusting.“
The photograph was taken during surveillance on a street in Prague. Source: Security Services Archive, SNB Surveillance Administration Fund – Files, Arch. Nr. SL-4083 MV (Code Name “Marta”)
Bernadeta Otrubová, Source: Jan Šimulčík, Čas svitania
