Irma Valdová

Irma Valdová’s family lived at Střítež near Jihlava. Her father was not Romani. He made his living as a musician, playing the zither, but he died in 1939. Her mother then left for Jihlava with her nine children, all of whom attended school. Valdová said that the villagers in Střítež treated them normally and were like them.

When they moved to Jihlava, her mother remained at home and took on home work, making Christmas decorations. Irma Valdová and her cousin worked in a factory making boxes for hand grenades; most of the work, which consisted of hauling large slabs, was done outside in the yard.

When they moved to Jihlava, her mother remained at home and took on home work, making Christmas decorations. Irma Valdová and her cousin worked in a factory making boxes for hand grenades; most of the work, which consisted of hauling large slabs, was done outside in the yard.

At 2:30 one morning, the Gestapo blockaded their apartment. The family was taken to the train station and then by train to Brno. They were not allowed to take anything with them; they left home in what they were wearing. They had no idea what would happen to them — many Romani people had already disappeared before them. They spent about a week at the Brno slaughterhouse, where there was a collection point. She said the Gestapo officers[1] treated them like animals. Among other things, they shaved their heads. Irma Valdová was turning seventeen at the time, and when they cut off her long black hair everyone cried and her mother actually fainted. The Roma, who came from different places, were very nice to each other, ​“they were incredibly kind to each other, extremely human”. They were united by their enormous fear.
When a sufficient number of Roma had been gathered, they were put on a long train. She said there were about six or seven families in each carriage, without food or water, ​“without anything”.

[1] Although Irma Valdová stated in her testimony that they were members of the Gestapo, the internment of her family and their imprisonment in the Brno slaughterhouse were probably carried out by Czech gendarmes.