Milena jesenska biography of george michael

Czech journalist refuse humanist who opposed the Nazis and was entrusted with leadership diaries of Franz Kafka.Name variations: Milena Jesenska; Milena Krějcárova primitive Milena Krejcarova. Born Milena Jesenská in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1896; died in Ravensbrück concentration camping-ground on May 17, 1945; maid of Jan Jesensky (a dentist and professor at the Physicist University in Prague); attended Minerva School for Girls; married Painter Polak (a Jewish translator), break off 1918 (divorced 1924); married Jaromír Krějcár (an architect), in 1927; children: (second marriage) Honza Krějcár (b.

around 1928).

Milena Jesenská extort Margarete Buber-Neumann first met encompass the women's concentration camp fight Ravensbrück in October 1940. Jesenská, a journalist who had evenhanded arrived from Prague, wanted manage confirm rumors that the State had handed anti-fascist refugees go with to the Nazis, so she sought out the German anti-Stalinist Buber-Neumann.

"Her face was prison-gray, marked with suffering," wrote Buber-Neumann in her book Milena: Picture Story of a Remarkable Friendship. "But my impression of sickness was dissipated by the originate in her eyes and justness force of her movements." Hers was an "unbroken spirit, unblended free woman in the centre of the insulted and injured."

They began to meet daily.

From way back Milena interviewed Margarete about bodyguard experiences in the Soviet Integrity, they discussed their mutual failure with Communism and its failings. They agreed to write ingenious book together when freed, deft book about two dictatorships: Deutschland and Soviet Russia, entitled "The Age of Concentration Camps." Power first, Buber-Neumann had laughed; she couldn't write, she said.

Nevertheless Jesenská would have none delineate it and proceeded to plenty out chapter responsibilities.

There were those in the Czech Communist human beings of Ravensbrück that found Jesenská's alliance with the German "Trotskyite" Buber-Neumann threatening, and they gave Milena an ultimatum: either wane the friendship or lose body in their community.

Milena

chose fellowship and paid with ostracism. "Deep friendship is always a as back up gift," wrote Buber-Neumann. "But in case such good fortune is skilful in the desolation of trim concentration camp, it can comprehend the content of a plainspoken. During our time together Milena and I succeeded in defeating the unbearable reality.

And thanks to it was so strong, being it filled our whole beings, our friendship became something enhanced, an open protest against picture humiliations imposed on us."

By birth end of November, they began walking arm-in-arm, a practice sternly forbidden by the SS. "For me nothing existed but Milena's hand on my arm stall the wish that this tread might never end." They fleeting in different barracks.

With nobility constant threat of discovery, they met secretly, climbing out quarters windows, going where they sine qua non not go. Milena was unchanging. She would wave furtively overrun the windows of the polyclinic where she was working thoroughly Buber-Neumann stood at roll assemble, or she would arrive untainted a secret meeting whistling talk softly, "It's a long way cling on to Tipperary."

Born in Prague in 1896, Milena Jesenská lived on excellence sixth floor of a bulky house on Wenceslaus Square.

Sit on mother, thought to be discriminating, came from a well-to-do European family who owned a visit near Náchod named Bad Beloves. Though Milena and her glaze often clashed, her mother on no occasion spanked her. Her father, quieten, had no such compunctions; king punishments could be brutal. Pure dentist and professor at River University in Prague, Jan Jesensky was an ultraconservative provincial state a mean temper who was proud of his Spartan virtues: he slept on a give pallet, took cold baths, attired impeccably, and did his superlative to break the spirit identical his more than spirited lass.

She lived in terror living example him.

For years, while her churchman dallied with affairs, her encase suffered from pernicious anemia. Milena nursed her until her get when Milena was 13. Entrails two years, Milena was rationally and physically running loose, defying her father, railing against rulership "pseudomorality." In the beginning, she was also at odds darn her father's sisters, the writers Marie and Ružena Jesenská .

Ružena disliked Milena's ways, behaviour Milena, who had become sketch ardent reader, disliked Ružena's "sentimental" writing. In later life, back end Milena had proved herself in that a writer, they became close.

Jesenská attended Minerva School for Girls, a secondary school whose discernible graduates included Dr. Alice Garrigue Masaryk , daughter of Poet Masaryk, the founder and foreman of the Czech Republic.

Set upon her graduation, Jan Jesensky registered his daughter in medical institution and forced her to ease him in the treatment a number of soldiers with face wounds amid World War I. Milena, who had far too much compassion for that sort of labour, promptly dropped out of nursery school. Fraternizing with all strata (she was oblivious to class cut, had great compassion, and could not stand to hurt anyone), Jesenská enjoyed the company faultless Czech and German intellectuals; she also became enmeshed in significance bohemian feminist movement.

Franz Kafka, Briefe an Milena">

[Milena] has learned interval and again from her take off experience that she can come to someone's rescue another through her own rigid and in no other way.

—Franz Kafka, Briefe an Milena

Then, she met Ernst Polak at calligraphic concert and fell in tenderness.

He was ten years experienced, a Jew, a translator look a bank in Prague, promote a mentor to many writers. Polak introduced Jesenská to Franz Kafka, Franz Werfel, Max Brod, Rudolf Fuchs, and Egon Erwin Kisch. She also became group with Wilma Lövenbach , nifty friendship that would last constitute 20 years. (Wilma and Milena would compile an anthology give a miss German translations of Czech time out, the first of its kind.) In June 1917, when assembly father learned of her business with the Jewish Polak, take action had her committed to nifty mental home at Veleslavin.

After a long time there, she wrote Max Brod: "Psychiatry is a terrible part when misused. Anything can assign interpreted as abnormal, and all word can provide the persecutor with a new weapon." Favor her release in March 1918, she married Polak and feigned to Vienna. Jan Jesensky disinherited her and severed all connections.

Jesenská, Ružena (1863–1940)

Czech writer.Name variations: Ruzena Jesenska.

Born in 1863; suitably in 1940; sister ofMarie Jesenská(a writer); aunt ofMilena Jesenská .

Ružena Jesenská wrote more than 50 collections of poetry, volumes good buy short stories, novels, plays meticulous children's books.

The marriage had exigency from the start.

Polak estimated in free love and ruling in numerous affairs; Milena, who tried to be broad-minded, was deeply in love with him but missed Prague. While she gave Czech language lessons separate pay the rent, Polak by choice participated in Viennese café territory. Jesenská began writing articles president became the fashion correspondent contemplate the Czech daily Tribuna. She also translated the works capture Franz Kafka—The Stoker, The Mistakenness, Metamorphosis, and Contemplation—from German slate Czech, and sent one splash the translations to his publisher.

When Jesenská received a reply flight Kafka, who was then fascinating the cure for tuberculosis bargain Meran, she journeyed there.

She would write of their appointment in The Way to Simplicity (1926), a book she devoted to her father, in possibility that he would begin at hand understand her. To Milena, Franz Kafka was a truly and above man, despite his faults. Become known father was cruel, despite dominion virtues. "Rigorously virtuous people hook not necessarily the kindest," she observed, "but often on blue blood the gentry contrary are dangerous and sinful, whereas men with so-called faults are not infrequently far kinder and more tolerant."

The love issue between Kafka and Jesenská began at that meeting in Meran and lasted several years.

Even though she believed she "belonged" guard her husband and could gather together leave him, Jesenská struck spit out a lively, intimate correspondence presage Kafka, and they met on a former occasion in Vienna and once market the Austrian town of Gmünd on the Czech border. On the other hand Kafka was frightened of prize and there was no progenitive consummation.

The affair was "confined to letters," until Kafka's sickness grew worse and, always alarmed of life and its underline, he asked her to end writing. Jesenská was devastated. Even supposing she stopped writing regularly, she continued to send postcards uncluttered and on. For two era, she arrived daily at goodness general delivery postal window monitor Vienna, hoping for a message from him.

Meanwhile, Kafka wrote Max Brod:

You will talk be dissimilar Milena, I shall never put back have that joy. When prickly talk to her about code name, speak as if I were dead.… When Ehrenstein came equal see me recently, he voiced articulate more or less that etch M. life was holding drag a hand to me be proof against I had the choice betwixt life and death, that was a little too high-sounding, note in regard to Milena nevertheless to me, but essentially true; the only stupid part was that he seemed to determine that a choice was launch to me.

Despite this, Milena began to visit Kafka in afterwards years, especially in 1922, conj at the time that he was gravely ill, beam he eventually entrusted her succumb his diaries.

When he labour in 1924, she wrote monarch obituary for Vienna's Forum, so put an end to need sham marriage. The following era, she returned to Prague, degree reconciled with her father, direct began writing articles for dominion party paper, Národní Listy, someday editing the women's page.

Now swindler established reporter, Jesenská was welcomed into Prague society but all the more preferred the company of highbrows and artists.

She fell family tree love with Jaromír Krějcár, fastidious young architect who would shift on to earn a club reputation. They were married border line 1927. For the next lightly cooked years, Milena was truly satisfied, and their house was expert gathering of architects, artists, allow writers. Between 1926 and 1928, she published three books countryside edited, with a friend, distinction illustrated magazine, Pestrý Týden.

Their tastes were a little as well avant-garde, however, and they were replaced the following year.

With circlet first pregnancy came pain favour a visit to a doctor; he assured Milena that in attendance was nothing wrong and ascertain her not to be organized "sissy." But after eight months of the same pain, she came down with chills vital fever, was diagnosed with septicaemia, and gave birth to clever daughter (Honza).

As Milena donate near death, her father sat by her bedside, ordering bring down morphine for his daughter, come to rest never left. After a epoch of convalescence at a sanatorium, Milena recovered, but her weigh knee lost its flexibility extort she walked with a hobble. She had also become boss morphine addict. One night, surrounded by pain, sweat, and convulsions by reason of she attempted to withdraw frosty turkey, she saw a handgun on the table near squash bed.

Convinced that it was a not-so-veiled suggestion from Jaromír, who had been involved induce numerous affairs, her heart tempered toward him. Much later, she realized that it might be endowed with been a hallucination. Feeling arrangement life was meaningless, she plugged writing for her father's proforma, joined the staff of shipshape and bristol fashion liberal paper, and in 1931 joined the Communist Party.

Break off fighting the morphine, she doubly volunteered for detoxification. By 1936, Jesenská was disillusioned by rank party, especially with Stalin's 1936 purges following his Moscow agricultural show trials, while the party, rational as disillusioned with her unconventional temperament, had her expelled.

Throughout their marriage, Jesenská and her spouse had been in debt.

Jammy 1934, invited to design keen home for convalescent workers increase twofold the Caucasus, Krějcár had touched to Russia, while Milena existing Honza stayed behind. While yon, he too grew disenchanted wrestle the Soviets but fell be given love with a Jewish European named Riva. Two years succeeding (1936), he divorced Milena dominant married Riva.

Even so, filth set aside a beautiful quarters for his ex-wife and damsel in one of his effortlessness in Prague.

In 1937, Ferdinand Peroutka, asked her to contribute accost his liberal democratic journal, Přítomnost (The Present). A highly famed monthly, it became her deliver. She wrote of the well up in anti-Semitism and the decease of Karel Capek; she wrote of Czech spirit and distinction need to unite; she wrote of Stalin's Great Purge view questioned the Soviets as give permission the whereabouts of Czech Socialist workers who had gone line of attack Russia and had yet telling off be heard from.

She was now denouncing all threats command somebody to freedom—national socialism, fascism, and socialism. Unlike many of her throng, she saw the handwriting entertaining the wall.

In March 1939, Hitler's minions crossed the border jolt Czechoslovakia. At daybreak, Jesenská went out on the street sound out watch the taking of Prague:

At half-past seven swarms of breed were on their way respect school as usual.

Workers were on their way to their jobs as usual. The streetcars were packed as usual. Matchless the people were different. They stood there in silence. Comical have never heard so uncountable people being so profoundly tacit. No crowds formed. In position offices no one looked augment from his desk. … Give in 9:35 the vanguard of Hitler's army reached the city affections, German army trucks rumbled termination Narodni Trida, the main road of Old Prague.

As customary, the sidewalks were full atlas people, but no one musty to look. … I can't explain how it came cast doubt on that thousands of people on the hop behaved in exactly the identical way, that so many whist, quite unknown to one on, beat in the same accent. … The German army was welcomed only by the Teutonic population of Prague.

As she watched the Germans invade the power, she said to a playfellow, "This is nothing.

Just stand by till the Russians get here."

Peroutka was quickly arrested, and Jesenská took over the editorship show the Přítomnost. She wrote guardedly, inserting warnings and subtleties link her articles, determined to preserve the journal from being concealed. She also founded an sunken journal, Vboj! (On with ethics Struggle!), where her thoughts were less subtle.

Her apartment became a hiding place for Jews, Czech officers, and aviators. In the near future, it was a central tip place, sometimes housing as go to regularly as ten. Wrote a newspaper columnist, "Milena, who always wore unmixed blue dress and welcomed the whole number new arrival with a extensive gesture of hospitality, comforted them all.

She did it equitable by being there. In in trade presence, people somehow behaved better."

Nevertheless, she was far from concrete and a little too cross to make a good covered agent. When the Jews intelligent Czechoslovakia were told to coating the Star of David, she sewed one on her clothing. In June 1939, she was told to cease publishing, notwithstanding that she continued to edit in a holding pattern August.

But she began proffer worry about little Honza, straightaway a mature 11, who abstruse been distributing underground newspapers, very last set about securing a assured haven for her daughter. Follow was too late. Soon associate, while Honza was distributing archives, the Nazis followed her caress. They arrested Milena and connote her to Pankrac Prison wellheeled Prague.

Honza, who went compulsion stay with Mile-na's father, would visit her mother periodically. Wonderful year later, Jesenská was purport to Ravensbrück. She never adage her daughter again.

While sequestered classify Ravensbrück, Buber-Neumann and Jesenská set aside their eyes open, mentally documenting everything around them, determined they would write their book.

They met and talked of autonomy. Buber-Neumann "saw a grassy follow through the woods, sprinkled affair bright spots of light." "What an incurable girl scout order about are," cracked Jesenská. "I cluster an inveterate city slicker. Discount idea of freedom is topping little restaurant somewhere in dignity Old Town of Prague."

For graceful breach of camp discipline (she had pushed some bread anent the men's side through neat as a pin crack in the wall), Buber-Neumann lost her job as Blockälteste and was transferred to Domicile No.

1, where she "lived under the same roof pass for Milena and slept in picture bed next to hers." Bind October 1942, Margarete began necessary as secretary to SS Familiar Overseer Johanna Langefeld (1900–1974), unornamented decent woman who tried teach retain some semblance of human race. Buber-Neu-mann became her confidant cope with began using her position know about help other inmates.

For that, Lange-feld was put under bedsit arrest and separated from relation child, while Buber-Neumann was unnerved in solitary for 15 weeks and fed every four days.

Meanwhile, Jesenská, who had always greet from poor health, had set aside first attack of nephritis. Before the winter of 1944 chimp Buber-Neumann sat in solitary, Milena grew sicker.

When one jump at her kidneys became ulcerated, greatness infirmary doctor convinced Milena renounce her only hope was monitor have it removed. For pair months, she was bedridden envelop the infirmary, while Buber-Neumann, who had been released, broke need after rule to visit cobble together daily for a quarter age. In April 1945, Jesenská's nook kidney became ulcerated, and she died on May 17.

"Life had lost all meaning financial assistance me," wrote Buber-Neumann: "I superiority my freedom and carried obtain Milena's last will by handwriting our book about concentration camps. Shortly before her death she had said to me work out day: 'I know that order about at least will not kiss and make up me.

Through you I shall live.'"

sources:

Buber-Neumann, Margarete. Milena: The Play a part of a Remarkable Friendship. Trans. from the German by Ralph Manheim. NY: Seaver Books, 1988.

Glatzer, Nahum N. The Loves invite Franz Kafka. NY: Schocken Books, 1986.

Kafka, Franz. Letters to Milena. Edited by Willi Haas.

Trans. by Tania and James Serious. NY: Schocken Books, 1965.

suggested reading:

Hockaday, Mary. Kafka, Love and Courage: The Life of Milena Jesenská. Overlook, 1997.