Through these activities they could, at least partially, mitigate the psychological effects of the desperate living conditions, aggravated by the prison guards constantly degrading their human dignity, by exhausting slave labor, and physical torture and manhandling. Furthermore, such activities gave the prisoners a new dose of strength and a ray of hope for survival that helped them in preserving their human face in the midst of this living hell. However, the prevailing conditions for such pursuits differed in the individual Nazi repressive facilities, with the local inmates most frequently responding spontaneously by showing solidarity, while their leading personalities were making conscious efforts to arouse others from lethargy. But the nature of the Gestapo Police Prison in the Small Fortress as a transit camp hampered the possibility of forging close-knit groups; nevertheless, spiritual and cultural life proceeded in the cells, albeit to a limited extent. The key for this was to build mutual trust which turned out to be quite difficult since the inmates had come from different walks of life and needed time to get to know each other better. Such opportunities came primarily on Sundays when inmates usually did not have to work, or when they spent their evenings in the closed cells after work. In their free time inmates would often tell their fellow prisoners about their own lives, home, families and jobs, thus introducing the first stages of genuine social interaction. Their debates would consequently develop into organized popular educational and professional lectures on diverse subjects – from natural sciences via politics to art history. Not surprisingly, clergymen would also join these social activities, either by celebrating the Mass, preaching or leading debates with other prisoners in the cells.

More frequent cultural events gathered during holidays, anniversaries and on special occasions. Prisoners tried their best to make their days more enjoyable particularly during Christmas and Easter, holding social events and cultural programs within the limits of possibility. Inmates would mostly sing on such occasions even though music was banned in the Small Fortress. Their repertoire covered, for instance, national and folk songs, songs by the popular Czech actors Voskovec and Werich, eventually opera arias. No less popular was recitation, with prisoners saying by heart mostly poems by Czech authors, such as Halas, Neruda, Nezval, Seifert, Vrchlický and other poets. Furthermore, inmates would contribute to such cultural undertakings their own musical or literary works. But the most widespread type of literary pursuits focused on writing poetry; this expressed authors’ innermost emotions, usually describing their homesickness, hardship, hope, faith as well as determination to fight against Nazism or picturing their life in the Fortress and behind the walls of their cells.

Even though the local conditions made artwork extremely difficult, inmates succeeded in creating numerous works of art in the Small Fortress. Their creation was far from simple since the necessary materials, such as pens and paper, were hard to get by. Still, the prisoners managed to get what they needed and on many occasions they fashioned improvised tools. Many a clandestine work of art featuring motifs of the prison premises and everyday life depicting the overall atmosphere in the Small Fortress came into being. In addition to such themes, there prevailed drawings of portraits of fellow prisoners together with unique caricatures. These were created not only by amateurs but also by outstanding artists, such as Ema Blažková, Karel Štipl, Josef Kylies and others. Production of various minor artifacts figured as another frequent free-time predilection of the inmates. They would make their products using various materials obtained from the workshops employing men, while women prisoners found their requisites in the so-called sewing workshop. Men made minor souvenir objects, especially of wood and metals. These included, for instance, toys, pendants, boxes, cigarette cases or tobacco boxes. Women would make use of any remnants of cloth and threads to make dolls, small animal figures, slippers, small hearts, embroidered handkerchiefs etc. These objects were then donated as gifts to fellow inmates or smuggled out and sent home to families and friends. Some prisoners spent their free time playing games, using hand-made cards, dice, dominoes or chess figures, mostly made of cardboard or bread. All these material and written documents, preserved thanks to the courage of many inmates who had kept them hidden from the prison guards or smuggled them out of the prison through various methods, are today a reminder of the cruel reality of the life of the captive community in which the above-mentioned activities played an extremely positive role, as confirmed by the recollections of the surviving inmates.