The Underground Reporters (8 page)
Herta Freed is a clever girl who knows many languages.…
The first edition of
Klepy
was three pages long. Ruda listed the names of the young people who came out to the swimming hole and wrote something witty about each of them.
Ruda worked alone, telling no one what he was doing. He kept to himself, writing and thinking about his mission. He wondered if people would take it seriously. He even wondered if some people might be offended by his remarks about them. In his first editorial, he wrote:
This newspaper was created by Ruda Stadler. I’m the only one responsible for its content. If people don’t like it, or are insulted, they should contact me.
I’ll write one edition of the paper and see what happens,
he thought.
If no one likes it, I’ll forget about doing any more.
He gathered information like an investigative reporter, and compiled what he learned into three typed pages.
Next, he gave some thought to a name for the paper. He wanted to keep it light. Finally, he decided to call it
Klepy,
Czech for “gossip.” It was the perfect title.
On August 30, 1940, Ruda produced the first edition of
Klepy.
He made only one copy. It was difficult enough to do that; it would be impossible to duplicate it. He decided that he would circulate the newspaper to
all the young people at the swimming hole, and see what their reaction was.
“Klepy” is Czech for “gossip.” This drawing of a gossipy woman was on the cover of most editions.
A sign-off sheet accompanied the paper. When people finished reading
Klepy,
they were to sign their names on the sheet, add a comment or two, and pass the newspaper on to someone else. In this way, they would all have a chance to read Ruda’s bold new experiment. As for Ruda, he could only sit and wait. Would they like his paper? Would they be irritated – or worse yet, bored? What would they say?
CHAPTER
10
E
VERYONE
L
OVES
K
LEPY
Ruda could not believe the excited response that greeted his little newspaper. All across the playground, young people were eager to get their hands on the paper and read what he had written. One child barely finished reading
Klepy
before the next child grabbed it. Not only did they love the newspaper, but they wanted more. “You have to produce another issue,” Reina Neubauer said.
Ruda agreed. “I can’t believe how popular these few pages are,” he said. “But I’m so glad. I knew I could do more than play volleyball here.” Writing that first edition of
Klepy
had been exciting, and he wanted to do more. But it was a lot of work, and he no longer wanted to do it alone. “If I’m going to produce another issue, I’ll need help.”
Ruda approached some of his friends – sixteen-year-old Rudi Furth and his fourteen-year-old brother, Jiri. Together they spoke with an older boy, Karli Hirsch. “With more people involved, we could really turn this into something important,” Ruda said. “Not just a few pages of descriptions, but a real newspaper, with meaningful stories and articles.” The
other boys nodded eagerly. They wanted to be part of the newspaper as well. “Since I am the founder of the paper, I’ll write the editorial,” Ruda continued. “But what else should we include?”
The boys thought and thought. “Sports!” Jiri said. “The paper has to have a sports section. Sports are what brought us here in the first place. They are what keep us coming back day after day. Everyone would be interested in reading about the soccer matches here.”
“Maybe poetry,” added Karli. “We can write poems about the swimming hole, and what we love about being here.”
“We don’t want to make it too serious.”
The original editorial team, (top to bottom) Ruda Stadler, Karli Hirsch, Rudi Furth, Jiri Furth.
“That’s right. There has to be some fun in the paper as well.”
“And it has to appeal to everyone, young and old.”
The discussion continued, with each boy adding his thoughts and ideas. Ruda listened, running a hand through his thick, curly hair. There was so much to do if they were going to produce an actual newspaper. But he was excited and his mind raced with new energy and enthusiasm.
Left: Ruda’s editorial in the second edition of
Klepy
described the rules of the swimming hole. Right: The second edition of
Klepy
included a poem, which encouraged the young people to find ways to continue their friendship as the summer ended.
On September 15, the second edition of
Klepy
came out. It began with an editorial by Ruda, describing in more detail what the playground and swimming hole meant to the Jewish youth of Budejovice. He wrote:
In the middle of the summer of 1940, permission was given to establish a Jewish swimming area. Hurrah for us; we have a place for recreation, sport and fun. Since June 16, we have been enjoying the Jewish playground.
He went on to explain some of the rules of the swimming hole, with a few tongue-in-cheek rules of his own.
If you are a boy, and you mistakenly enter the girls’ changing cabin, you will be met by a storm of screeching girls. If a girl makes a mistake and enters the boys’ cabin, she is welcomed with joy.
That second edition also included a poem, encouraging the young people to find a way to continue their friendship and loyalty to one another as summer ended:
Our playground is so very nice,
With a cabin, small and fun.
But when winter comes and all is ice,
We’ll have no place to come.
So, Jewish children, what we need,
Is a cabin close to town.
Where our fantasies, come true indeed.
With songs and play and joyous sound!
When Ruda circulated the second edition of
Klepy
the reaction was even better than the response to the first one. The children laughed at the silly jokes, enjoyed the poetry, and delighted in the sports articles. More than that, the adults in Budejovice wanted to read
Klepy
as well. It was not enough to pass the newspaper around the playground. Now it was going to be circulated to the entire Jewish community.
Klepy
had become a huge success.
CHAPTER
11
B
ACK TO
S
CHOOL
S
EPTEMBER
1940
As August gave way to September, and a third edition of
Klepy
was published, the children needed the newspaper’s optimistic message of friendship and camaraderie more than ever. Adolf Hitler’s power was increasing and his persecution of Jews was escalating. His armies were spreading across Europe, defeating country after country. At times, it appeared that nothing could slow the Nazis down. Each evening John listened to radio broadcasts with his parents, and the news kept getting worse. Italy and Japan had teamed up with Germany, and so had Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Denmark and Norway had been defeated. France, Belgium, and Luxembourg had fallen, and so had the Netherlands. Britain was fighting back bravely against endless bombing raids. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were all taking Britain’s side. But the United States was refusing to join the war.
John’s parents received letters from family members in other countries. They talked about cities in Poland and Germany in which large sections were being blocked off. Jews were being ordered to move to these
“ghettos” – to leave their homes and belongings behind, and move into cramped apartments, often sharing tiny spaces with two or three other families. Food was scarce inside the ghettos. And even if food had been available, money was in yet shorter supply. Children and grown-ups became sick. The elderly were especially at risk. And each day, more and more Jews arrived from neighboring towns and villages, and the crowding, the shortages, and the health problems grew worse.