The Ant War is a story of resistance, betrayal, and hiding from the Gestapo during World War II. This book, compiled from the diary entries of Františka and Rudolf Bittner, bears witness to the fate of two people in the grand scheme of history. It’s a story of courage, friendship, love, but also of anger, cruelty, and hatred.
Rudolf and Františka lived in the village of Podmokly in Rokycany and raised their son Rudla. In 1943, Rudolf joined the resistance group of Northern Zbiroh and together with Františka, they hid people who would otherwise fall into the hands of the Gestapo. When one of the group members was arrested and betrayed his colleagues, Rudolf had to hide in the forest, where he spent several months. Františka was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp in Terezín and later to Ravensbrück. After the end of the war, both returned to Czechoslovakia and to their son Rudla.
The book was carefully edited and processed by Rudolf and Františka Bittner’s great-granddaughters, Barbora and Katrin, who are also granddaughters of Rudolf’s son, known as Rudla.
Barbora focused on the textual part of the story and recorded the entire story in photographs. Katrin then devoted herself to the basic transcription of the text and gave the book its final form and graphic design. Katrin subsequently presented the entire book as part of her diploma thesis in the Graphic Design 1 studio at the Faculty of Art and Design UJEP.
The book is not only an attempt to reflect on the consequences of conflicts, but also the result of the careful work of two young women who are trying to remind the story of their great-grandparents.