František Langer (3 March 1888 – 2 August 1965) was a Czech-Jewish

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, essayist,

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, publicist and military physician.

Life

Langer was born and in Prague, Austria-Hungary in a Czech speaking Jewish family. He studied medicine at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

. He served in

Czechoslovak Legions , image = Coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Legion.svg , image_size = 200px , alt = , caption = Czechoslovak Legion coat of arms , start_date ...

in Russia during the World War I as a physician. In 1935-1938 he worked as a dramatic adviser in

Vinohrady Theatre Vinohrady Theatre ( cs, Divadlo na Vinohradech) is a theatre in Vinohrady, Prague. Construction began on February 27, 1905. It served as the Theatre of the Czechoslovak Army from autumn 1950 to January 1966. It contains a curtain painted by Vla ...

and as a commander of a Prague military hospital. He spent World War II in England as a brigade general of the Czechoslovak army abroad. His younger brother was a Hebrew poet and scholar

Jiří Langer Jiří (Georg(o)) Mordechai Langer (19 March 1894 – 12 March 1943) was a Hebrew poet, scholar and essayist, journalist and teacher. Early life Langer had been born to Europeanized Jewish family and attended Czech schools. His older brothers w ...

Work

The main focus of Langer's work is in drama: *''Velbloud uchem jehly'' (aka ''The Camel through the Needle's Eye'') (1923) *''Periférie'' (aka ''The Outskirts'') (1925) *''Grandhotel Nevada'' (1927) *''Obrácení Ferdyše Pištory'' (The Conversion of Ferdyš Pištora, 1929) *''Jízdní hlídka'' (aka ''The Cavalry Watch'') (1935) *''Dvaasedmdesátka'' (1937) *''Děti a dýka'' (The Kids and the Dagger, 1942) *''Pražské legendy'' (Prague Legends, 1956) *''Železný vlk'' (The Iron Wolf, 1923) - short stories

Orders, decorations and medals

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk ( cz, Řád Tomáše Garrigua Masaryka) is an Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the diss ...

, II. Class, 1995 in memoriam * Czechoslovak War Cross 1918 Bar

Czechoslovak War Cross 1918 The Czechoslovak War Cross 1918 (''Československý válečný kříž 1918'' in Czech, ''Československý vojnový kríž 1918'' in Slovak) is a military decoration of the former state of Czechoslovakia which was issued for acts of military valo ...

Czechoslovak War Cross 1939-1945 Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) ** Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

Czechoslovak Order of the Hawk with swords * TCH Rad Sokola 2 BAR

Czechoslovak Order of the Hawk with a star * Ribbon Czechoslovak Revolutionary Medal

Czechoslovak Revolutionary Medal * World War I Victory Medal ribbon

Victory Medal * TCH CS voj med Za zasluhy hvezda ribbon

Czechoslovak Medal for Merit 1st Class * TCH CS voj pametni medaile BAR

Commemorative Medal of Czechoslovak Army Abroad * Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon

Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 The ''Croix de Guerre 1939–1945'' (English: War Cross 1939–1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the ''Croix de Guerre'' created on 26 September 1939 to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis forces at any ti ...

References

1888 births 1965 deaths Czech Jews 20th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights Czech male dramatists and playwrights Czech screenwriters Male screenwriters Czech medical writers Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 20th-century screenwriters Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery Charles University alumni {{CzechRepublic-writer-stub