Toman Brod

This is how I had myself photographed for my first citizenship certificate in 1941, still in the time before I left for Terezin.

The photograph is from a time when our and the situation of Jews in the Protectorate began to be very serious. All the Jews from Prague were concentrated in the Old Town, they could live only there.

We lived in an apartment together with two other families, but because our cook was a Christian, she rented a two-room apartment under her name in Masna Street, and we actually lived there with her.

We would only go to Kozi Street in the Old Town to sleep. The whole building in Masna Street knew that there was a Jewish family there, but no one ratted on us. Likely it wasn't common, but that's the way it was.

Because as Jewish children we weren't allowed to attend normal schools, we were educated by having Jewish teachers come to our home, who would teach us, we were always a group of eight to ten Jewish boys and girls together.

I don't recall that we knew each other from before, we simply got to know each other and were friends.

While it was still possible, we rode bikes, there were about ten of us young Jewish people, and would go for example on trips to Roztoky to Zbraslav...

The youth tried to make use of their free time somehow, and to spend it together. However this period ended when stars began to be worn, after that it was bad.