Restitution by Kathy Kacer Page B

the legally controlled limit of funds allowable on a daily basis – fifty Czech crowns . Through Alois Jirák, Marie had access to larger sums of money in their estate. However, some of the family’s funds were here in regular bank accounts. “I don’t want the government to have any of it,” Marie insisted. “We’ll get it out of the bank, bit by bit if we have to.”
    â€œYour mother was smart to get you out of Rakovník when she did. I told you that she knew what she was talking about when we were still there,” continued George. “Mine refused to leave. I haven’t heard from my parents in weeks.” Karl nodded sympathetically. He didn’t even want to mention this news to Hana, knowing how she would worry about George’s sister, Rita. It was difficult enough for Karl and his family to be separated from his father, but at least they knew where he was. There were too many rumors that Jews in smaller towns were being arrested. Karl’s mind often wandered to thoughts of the Jewish families in Rakovník. He wondered if they had had the foresight to get out as Marie had.
    The line in front of the bank wound its way down the street and around a corner. Now it inched forward ever so slightly. Hundreds of citizens lined up here on a daily basis to try to retrieve their savings. Along with a growing tension in the air was a sense that the market in Prague might collapse, leaving many without financial resources. Karl and George spent long hours here on a daily basis. Still, it passed the time when there was little else for Karl to do.
    As for Marie, she was working furiously to get her family out of Czechoslovakia. Through conversations with Victor and various friends and officials in Prague, the family learned that to get out of the country, three key documents were required. The first was Czech passports. They were fortunate that they had these in their possession. The two remaining requirements were a permit from the Gestapo allowing the family to leave and cross the border, and a visa from a country willing to accept them. Victor was trying to acquire the latter. Marie was in charge of the exit permits. But the acquisition of these two key documents was proving to be a daunting task.
    â€œEven if we are able to get out of Prague, what country will take us in?” Marie voiced this concern as she sat with her children in the evenings, discussing her ongoing telephone conversations with her husband and their efforts to obtain the necessary papers. The simple truth was that not many countries were willing to open their doors to Jewish refugees, and more and more were desperate to escape their countries. Many nations thought that by accepting Jews they would be bringing the wrath of Hitler upon themselves. Besides, many refugees had no jobs and no money, and could prove economically burdensome to countries dealing with their own unemployment and poverty. Instead of refusing entry to Jewish refugees outright, many countries made the conditions for entry so difficult that it was nearly impossible to comply. Stringent quota systems on the number of Jews admissible were put into place, adding to the list of obstacles facing Jews who wanted to leave their homelands. All of this conspired to keep Karl and his family in Prague as Hitler’s noose tightened ever so slowly around their necks.
    By early June, prominent Czech Jews began to disappear mysteriously. Jewish synagogues across the country were burned down and Jews rounded up and beaten on the streets. Jews were barred from owning businesses and Jewish property was seized across the protectorate. On June 21, von Neurath, the new Reich protector, issued a long list of anti-Jewish decrees, not unlike those already enacted in Germany, all designed to destroy the economic viability of the Jewish population. The seizure of Jewish property became commonplace. And while some Jews were still offered the opportunity to