The Living, Breathing Streets of Prague
I stumbled onto the streets of Prague, not knowing what I would find or what to expect.
When I started writing Diamonds in Auschwitz, I had no intention of setting it in Prague. I knew
nothing of the city, nothing of its people or its experience during World War II. But as the story
unfolded itself to me, starting backwards in Auschwitz, reversing in time to Terezin, the origin
became obvious to me. Prague. The City of a Hundred Spires.
I discovered Prague street by street, starting first on Celetna Street with its shining shop
windows and colored canopies. Here is where Samual first saw the ring that would bind him
with every other character in the book. I learned about the Jewish Quarter with its breathtaking
and startling unique synagogues. This is where Hanna drew strength as the treatment of the
Jewish people of the city continued to worsen. I took imaginary walks through the parks and
over the St. Charles Bridge with its bordering statues. Here is where Samual and Hanna strolled
hand in hand the night he gave her the ring. I fell in love with the city. I fell as much in love with
the city as I did some of my characters, maybe even more. (Sorry, Samual.)
Prague is not only the backdrop of Samual and Hanna’s love story, it’s the origin of their
story. Both characters were drawn to the city because it was a melting pot – full of people, art,
architecture, culture, ideas and beauty. As I researched and learned more about the city, it
drew me to it, too.
While I explored through books and maps and pictures, Prague became more than a
setting for my book. It became a character. Its fate during World War II, how it handled itself,
how it was changed by the Nazi occupation was just as important as the human characters. I
wanted Prague to be like Hogwarts in Harry Potter or Mayberry for Andy Griffith or Narnia in
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s more than a place. It’s a living, breathing part of the
story. It shows indifference, it fights back, it survives.
