Oral History Interview: Renata Laxova (0669) - (:unkn) unknown (My University, 2004)
In her two 2004 interviews with Erika Milam, Renata Laxova discusses growing up in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia, her evacuation to and young life in WWII Britain, and schooling, scholarship, and family in both communist Czechoslovakia, Britain, and the US. She discusses in detail the dislocations caused by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia and the efforts of Nicholas Winton to aid Jewish Czech children college. She also describes life under communist rule in contrast to the abundance of post-WWII America; and outlines her medical career from the Institute at Brno to the Kennedy-Galton Center in London to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Other topics discussed include: the events of the Prague Spring of 1968 and subsequent suppression; the family?s escape to England; Lionel Penrose; research on twins, mental retardation, and teratogens; and teaching. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the UW-Madison Oral History Program.
Keywords: Brno, Czechoslovakia; World War II; Nazis