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A young Czech family waves a button that says, "Don't Panic," and gives
a "V" for victory at the demonstration against the current regime in
Prague.

271 W. MAPLE
TWELVE OAKS MALL
LAKESIDE MALL
BIRMINGHAM
NOVI
STERLING HEIGHTS
CROSSWINDS MALL
FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER
WEST BLOOMFIELD
DEARBORN

10-DAY SALE bringing back to light the elegance

of Art Deco Design

'FLOATING
GLASS"

a truly original lighting
creation by the celebrated

GEORGE KOVACS

Save magnificently on this
unique lighting creation which
combines the Art Deco beauty
of a floating disk of light with the
modern illumination of quartz
halogen. In black, chrome or
brass. Two light oval version
available. Bulbs included.

Manufacturer's suggested
retail price $495.00

895

Phone orders accepted.

Sole ends Feb. 17

ORCHARD
LIGHTING
CENTER

First In Fashion Lighting

28801 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills • (313) 553 8540

-

92

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1990

in a sea of irrelevance.
This was no less true within
the Jewish community. A
small group of young adults
gathered at each others'
houses to teach Hebrew,
study Jewish literature, and
secretly publish stories and
essays by Issac B. Singer and
Martin Buber, among others.
What they couldn't do offi-
cially they did privately. Lit-
tle wonder, then, that when
communist rule in Czechoslo-
vakia began to sway, it took
so little to topple it fully and
irreversibly. The same fate
awaited Heller and Krause.
"After my husband wrote
his letter," said Hannah
Mayer, "we went to tell them.
But they had vanished, and
our synagogue cantor, head of
the Prague community, said
we all stand behind the letter.
Then we called for an emer-
gency meeting of all com-
munities in Bohemia and
Moravia."
"It was quite a sight," said
Andrej Ernyei, a piano tuner,
jazz musician and communi-
ty activist. "They descended
on December 3rd — these old
Stalinists that looked like
they'd been asleep for 20
years. On our side, the young
ones, we had 50 people." Hel-
ler was fired on the spot. The
others quit. Some were unre-
pentant, such as Neufeld of
Brno, who had written to the
police about Prague author
Leo Pavlat's "anti-socialist"
activities (no minor smear). "I
had to, I have a wife and fami-
ly!" he bellowed. Pavlat, a
subdued man by nature,
looked at him and said quiet-
ly, "So do I." Neufeld went.
Strangest of all was Franti-
sek Krause. One eyewitness
said, "he approached every

one he had ever reported on to
the police, people who he tried
his damndest to ruin, and
asked for forgiveness. He
stood in the middle of the
room and said he wanted to
stay and work in the com-
munity. That he'd do manual
labor."
And when, toward the end
of the evening the elderly
Dezider Galski was re-elected,
Krause took him aside and
begged him to let him work
for him. A few weeks later, sit-
ting in the office he had been
forced to cede to Krause four
years earlier, Galski, looking
uncomfortable, said, "this
man said he wanted to clean
my shoes." He shrugged. "So
I let him stay on a few weeks:'
The interview was temporari-
ly interrupted. Krause
wanted to serve Galski, and
this writer, coffee.
All during what has been
called the Gentle Revolution,
the Mayers' apartment be-
came a meeting place for
community and Civic Forum
activists, as well as student
strikers. While the rabbi and
his wife were marching or
meeting, their two daughters
did the cooking and cleaning.
By the time of the general
strike on December 4th, the
whole community was pitch-
ing in, and there weren't
many sights more memorable
than seeing the elderly kit-
chen staff of the kosher kit-
chen, some of them concen-
tration camp survivors,
marching for democracy. Af-
terwards, the elderly porter of
the building began covering
the walls with "Havel for
President" posters. He even
papered over his favorite soc-
cer calendar with Havel. And
that's commitment.