The couple both refused to join the Czechoslovak Communist Party which held power from 1948 to 1989, and faced political persecution as a result.
[8] In January 1942, three weeks after receiving notice from the Gestapo, Růžičková and her family were forcibly relocated from Plzen to Theresienstadt by train.
Theresienstadt was originally designated by the Nazis as a "model community" for educated, middle-class Jews from Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria.
Hirsch was organising the children's barracks as he had in Theresienstadt, and Růžičková began working there as a teaching assistant, which kept her from more dangerous jobs and protected her from the many diseases spreading through the camp.
In this role, she was exposed to the extreme reality of Nazi racial theory; German doctors, including Fritz Klein, the "Chief Selector" of the camp and colleague of Josef Mengele, whom Růžičková had met in Theresienstadt, visited the children's barracks to take physiological measurements or select children to be removed for experimentation.
Růžičková was put to work protecting and repairing an oil pipeline and maintaining gas tanks, which were subject to daily bombardment.
When her mother fell ill, Růžičková was forced to sneak out of the camp to gather turnips in order to survive.
[8] Although Růžičková's mother remained seriously ill, they were able to return to Czechoslovakia in July 1945, where they found their family home occupied and possessions stolen.
[5][13] The four years Růžičková had spent in concentration camps had not only hurt her physically and psychologically, but also caused a significant delay in her progress as a musician.
[6] In 1947, Růžičková was accepted into the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague where her professors included pianists Albín Šíma, František Rauch and harpsichordist Oldřich Kredba.
Despite her rapid improvement, one of her professors discouraged her from being a professional musician, but she continued her studies, specializing in the harpsichord and early music.
As a student in Prague, Růžičková was called in front of a committee when she was discovered reading the works of Sigmund Freud, whose literature had been banned.
[16] In 1956 Růžičková won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich,[3][2] and was offered a scholarship from jury member Marguerite Roesgen-Champion to continue her harpsichord studies in Paris.
Although she was unable to study in Paris, her win at the International Music Competition led to further invitations to perform across Europe.
Since she was highly paid for these performances, the government allowed her to travel, but confiscated much of the foreign currency that she earned.
[3] She performed at Bach festivals in various European cities, including Leipzig, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Ansbach, Frankfurt, Schaffhausen, and Bath.
Although her success made her valuable to the state, as a non-party member Růžičková remained under suspicion from the Communist government, and was not allowed to teach music to Czech students.
[15] In 1962, she co-founded the Prague Chamber Soloists with conductor Václav Neumann, and in 1963 she formed a successful duo with violinist Josef Suk.
[citation needed] Other chamber music partners included János Starker, Pierre Fournier, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Aurèle Nicolet and Maxence Larrieu.
She also worked with conductors including Serge Baudo, Paul Sacher, Herbert Blomstedt, Libor Pešek, Neville Marriner and Helmuth Rilling.
Her recorded repertoire is extensive, including works from the English virginalists through to modern composers such as Bohuslav Martinů, Francis Poulenc, Manuel de Falla and Frank Martin.
[19] Following the Velvet Revolution of 17 November 1989, Růžičková participated in the protests against the government,[20] going on strike from the Academy of Music and the Czech Philharmonic.
When the Communist regime was overthrown in December, Růžičková received the title of "Professor", which she had not been granted despite teaching at the Academy since 1951,[21][22] and was able to serve as a committee member for music competitions.
In 2013 Supraphon released new CDs of Růžičková's work, and British harpsichordist Pamela Nash wrote about her in the June 2013 edition of the British Sounding Board magazine:Acclaimed as 'The first lady of the harpsichord,' and recognized by many as Landowska's successor, her career has left the harpsichord world a legacy, documented by over 100 recordings, spanning half a century... this timely commemoration serves as a timely reminder of Ruzickova's invaluable role in promoting the harpsichord in the 20th century.
Embarking on a career when early harpsichord repertoire was barely acknowledged, or else relegated to the piano, she resolved to re-connect Baroque keyboard music to the instrument for which it was written; in her own words 'to rid the harpsichord of its museum nature and make it a living instrument.'"
[30] In 2019, her posthumous autobiography, One Hundred Miracles, written with Wendy Holden, was published by Bloomsbury, and translated into ten languages.