Milena Prochazkova in childhood

In this photograph I'm at about the age of 2. But where it was taken, I have no idea. I was born on 3rd September 1930 in Prague. Besides the time spent in Terezin, I've never lived anywhere else. I've got a high school education, I graduated from academic high school in Prague. I didn't have any siblings. Though in 1934, when I was four, my parents had a baby boy, Jan, but he had a serious congenital chest defect and died while still a baby. He lived to the age of five months. It was evidently some sort of genetic defect. I've most likely also got it, a congenital heart defect, but in my case it's somehow been overcome. It's possible that I've got it from my father, even though a heart attack doesn't have anything to do with a congenital defect. My mother never had any problems with her heart, even though she was a heavy smoker. But in her case they never found anything, that I know for sure. I retired as soon as I was able, so that I could take care of her, because she was already quite badly off. As a little girl I didn't go to nursery school, my mother was at home with me and we also had a maid. In 1936 I went straight into 1st grade. In light of the fact that my mother then worked for my father in the office, the maid took care of the household, took care of me, the shopping. I remember Lida, she stayed with us until the war, and was with us after the war, too, before she got married. But we kept in touch with her afterwards as well. I remember when I started going to school. Back then I was this sickly child - that was due to my heart defect. At school they said that I had to weigh at least 19 kilos for them to take me into 1st grade. So my parents were constantly stuffing me with something. In the end I did go into 1st grade, and had a very kind man for a teacher. But I have to admit that as far as being fired up over school and over spiritual enrichment, that wasn't the case with me at all. I really wasn't into school.