The sign on the gate at Auschwitz—Arbeit macht frei—declares that work sets you free. In fact, this civilization loophole liberated prisoners from life, and their freedom was narrowed to the freedom to die at any moment. Stories of civilization loopholes carry risk, especially if written...

Australian writer Heather Morris decided that after her novel Tattooist of Auschwitz she would continue her successful literary journey through the character of Cilka, the sex slave of the Lagria commander at Auschwitz. The writer’s decision was probably made in Slovakia, where she learned that...

Deportation (Odvlečení) Texts with the evidence from JUDr. Ivan Kováč We can point out that the isolation of the political opponents and criminals in the inhospitable regions of the country is not a Soviet invention. The tradition of exile has had a long tradition in Russia.  F. M....

    Sample Translated from the Slovak by Julia and Peter Sherwood The shift   Thursday, 5 March 1953 I.   What does a woman have to lose for her femininity to be stripped away entirely? Must she give up all her desires? What must she be deprived of before she starts...

  Extract translated by Jonathan Gresty The Second World War is drawing to an end as Red Army soldiers liberate Slovakia from Nazi occupation. The same soldiers, however, are also arresting thousands of innocent Slovak citizens on charges of spying for the enemy and then transporting...

Novel (Short annotation) The novel I'm Tukot takes place in the early nineties in a single night but the story extends to previous forty years. Journalist Tukot is awakened by mysterious night bell, but he is too afraid to try to identify who wants to get to his apartment. He makes up various...