Under A Cruel Star Sparknotes

Following the Holocaust and aftermath of world war II, Heda Kovaly’s Under a Cruel Star provides one woman’s view on communism in Czechoslovakia. In this memoir, the author develops the theme of popular support for communism by explaining the people's thoughts during that time and her own experiences with her husband’s support for communism. She uses the lens of the Czech people, herself, and her husband, Rudolf Margolius, to develop her theme for popular support for communism. Her use of these viewpoints helps explain how the party was able to take over Czechoslovakia after the Holocaust through their persuasive ideals. Kovaly’s memoir has been useful in contributing to our discussions but also has its limits and advantages as a primary source

While we often blame the support of communists, especially high-level communists such as Rudolf Margolius, for the violence that is enacted by the Czech communist party, Kovaly explains that they are also just pawns in the Soviet system. She tells us her husband’s reaction to the arrests where he explains his strong support of communism: “I cannot give up my conviction that my ideal is essentially sound and good, just as I cannot explain why it has failed- as it apparently has…If you’re right, if it really is a fraud, then I’ve been an accomplice in a terrible crime. And if I had to believe that, I could not go on living”. This statement shows us how desperate Rudolf really was, as his communist party was showing its true colors as corrupt and unstable. In lectures, we often heard the terrors pushed by the communists, such as totalitarianism, which is the use of political terror to control every aspect of people’s lives and linked nazism and Soviet communism together. Kovaly’s memoir challenges this view by humanizing the communists, especially Rudolf, since we often simply think about the destruction that communists did. Kovaly uses her memoir to portray how her husband stood strong in his beliefs and to challenge our discussion on how all communists were violent and corrupt, causing us to reevaluate our discussions about the theme of popular support for

The author uses the points of view of the Czech people, herself, and her husband, Rudolf Margolius, to develop her theme for popular support for communism. Her memoir showcases the horrors of both the Holocaust and communism and contributes to our discussion about popular support for communism. As a primary source, it has both its limits and advantages, especially since it just focuses on one country and one woman’s view. Some of its limits include bias, emotions, and inaccurate information that can take away from the themes of the book and are important to keep in mind. However, there are also some advantages to using a primary source as it can provide foreshadowing and the emotions of the author can emphasize the important events of the book. Overall, while reading any primary source can have some advantages and drawbacks, this memoir contributes to our discussions and helps challenge and enrich our views on the popular support for communism in