Hana Reinerová was born in 1921 in Benešov, but she grew up in the Bulgarian city of Ruse, where her father worked. Later on the family moved to Hradec Králové.
Hana came to Prague in order to study, but occupation cut her study short. Many of her friends and relatives were active in the anti-Nazi resistance group Petition committee "We ́ll stay faithful” (PVVZ), she was active in several left resistance organizations.
Just before her deportation to the Terezín ghetto, she married the composer Karel Reiner, then a journalist working for the last permitted Jewish newspaper. From Terezín she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She also survived camps Freiberg and Mauthausen, where she was liberated. After the war, she finally completed her studies. Besides music she dedicated herself to translations from Bulgarian.
The interview was recorded on August 29, 1996.