10 and 11 Summary and Analysis

The Iron Curtain descends on Czechoslovakia. The media is entirely controlled by the state. Throughout 1950 and 1951 Communism continued to centralize power and spread terror. Various arrests are noted in the news, and Kovály wonders why so many people are arrested—some few are eventually released c. 1956, but not many. Most issue lengthy confessions laden with stilted party verbiage. The economy slows to a crawl and official propaganda favors the working poor while the party elite consumes with abandon. Going shopping means waiting in long lines to pay exorbitant prices. Kovály secures another job and meets Pavel Kovály whom she will later marry; she describes him as a misfit because he is not interest in party politics. At this point, their relationship is merely that of friendly co-workers.

Margolius and Kovály attend the 1950 anniversary celebration of Victorious...