1_04: Holocaust Aftermath: Carrying the Memories, Unopened
1980 July 20, Front side - Envelope and enclosed letter from Renata's father to Renata.
Tan envelope with printed text and outline in English, Spanish, and French using blue and red ink. At the top left, an adhesive sticker with printed text in English using black ink is present. Cursive handwriting in English using blue ink appears at the bottom right. At the top right, two red ink overprint stamps. One is a cancellation dated July 20, 1980. The other is square with a rigid stamp outline and text in the center "0600".
Name/Title
1_04: Holocaust Aftermath: Carrying the Memories, UnopenedEntry/Object ID
2019.1.33Scope and Content
1980 July 20, envelope and enclosed letter from Renata's father to Renata.Context
“I couldn’t bring myself to read them because they were so sad. And I had no recourse. That’s why.” - Filmed Conversation with Renata Laxova, March 20, 2019 Historians tend to talk about human “agency” (i.e., the individual’s power to act). In the discussion of human agency, it is often overlooked that the choice not to act is still a manifestation of human agency. In this case Renata chose not to open tens of letters her parents sent her from behind the Iron Curtain in Brno, Czechoslovakia in the 1980’s during the Cold War. In keeping the letters unopened, this exhibit is honoring Renata’s agency. Furthermore, by displaying the letters in their unopened form, the exhibit is displaying much more than mere pieces of paper, rather the exhibit is conveying the emotional pain that Renata felt about being separated from her parents twice: the first time, due to National Socialism and second time, due to Communism. Renata’s parents had saved her life when they decided to put her on a Kindertransport from Czechoslovakia to England in August 1939. Both of her parents survived the Holocaust, and she was reunited with them after the war. Later she was separated from her parents a second time when they were trapped behind the Iron Curtain of Communism, and she was conducting her pioneering genetics research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite many attempts to visit her ailing parents in Czechoslovakia, Renata was rejected entry. It got to the point that the letters were too depressing to read. Feeling helpless, Renata placed the many unopened letters in a brown paper bag. Her mother did manage to visit Madison in 1977 before her death in 1981. Her father lived to see the Iron Curtain fall in 1989 and passed away in 1996. March 20, 2019 – Left: Renata was very fortunate that many of her childhood letters, post cards, drawings, books and other documents survived the Holocaust era. Middle: Renata is holding a blanket with her initials. Renata’s mother gave her the blanket when she went to England. Right: Renata is holding several unopened letters from her father in the 1980’s. The featured letter was post marked in Bruno on July 7, 1980.Collection
Renata LaxovaCategory
Cover, Letter
Philatelic Material