Hana Maria Pravda (, Becková; after first marriage, Munk; after second marriage, Pravda; 29 January 1916,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

− 22 May 2008,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Biography

Hana Becková was born in Prague, 29 January 1916. She trained in Leningrad in 1936 under Alexei Dikii. On her return to Prague, she married her first husband, Alexander Munk who was a student activist. Pravda worked in Czech theatre before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and made five films (under the names Hana Becková, Hana Bělská, Hana Alexandrová and Hana Pravdová). When the war broke out, Hana and her husband Alexander Munk were sent to

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

and were subsequently transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp where they became separated. She survived the camp and the subsequent January 1945

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...

and recorded her experiences in a diary. She later found out that her husband had died. She returned to Prague and continued to act in the realistic theatre where she met

George Pravda George Pravda (19 June 19161 May 1985) was a Czechoslovak theatre, film and television actor. Early life He began his career in Czechoslovakia, where he was credited as Jiří Pravda, and then emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1956. Career H ...

. She emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with him and continued her career. Pravda's most well-known role was as Emma Cohen in the 1970s

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

drama '' Survivors''. She also appeared as the wife of the innkeeper (played by her real-life husband

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

) in the

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

version of '' Dracula'' (1974). Other TV credits include: ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', '' Department S'', ''

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'', ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'' and '' Tales of the Unexpected''. Pravda's wartime diary was published as ''I Was Writing This Diary For You, Sasha'' (2000). She also published a collection of autobiographical stories, ''Kaleidoscope: Snapshots of My Life'' (2002).

Personal life

Pravda died, 22 May 2008, in Oxford, England. Her son, Dr Alex Pravda, is an academic. Her granddaughter is the English actress Isobel Pravda. Her first cousin was the Czech-Chilean businessman Milan Platovsky.

Bibliography

* ''I Was Writing This Diary For You, Sasha'' (2000) * ''Kaleidoscope: Snapshots of My Life'' (2002)

Partial filmography

*'' On the Sunny Side'' (1933) - Willi *''Marijka nevěrnice'' (1934) *''První políbení'' (1935) - Věra *''Nikola Šuhaj'' (1947) *'' The Long Shadow'' (1961) - Matron *''

Before Winter Comes ''Before Winter Comes'' is a 1969 British comedy-drama war film directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay by Andrew Sinclair. Plot ''Before Winter Comes'' takes place in the immediate aftermath of World War II. British Major Giles Burnside ...

'' (1969) - Beata *''

The Kremlin Letter ''The Kremlin Letter'' is a 1970 American neo-noir DeLuxe Color espionage thriller in PanavisionSeymour, Gene. "100 Greatest Spy Movies: A Special Collector's Edition from the Editors of American History. 2009. Weider History Group. directed b ...

'' (1970) - Mrs. Kazar *'' And Soon the Darkness'' (1970) - Madame Lassal *''

Death Wish 3 ''Death Wish 3'' is a 1985 American action thriller film directed and edited by Michael Winner. It is the third film and the last to be directed by Winner in the ''Death Wish'' film series. It stars Charles Bronson as the vigilante killer Paul Ke ...

'' (1985) - Mrs. Kaprov *''

The Unbearable Lightness of Being ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' ( cs, Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí) is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, about two women, two men, a dog and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the no ...

'' (1988) *'' Follow Me'' (1989) - 2. alte Frau *'' Bullseye!'' (1990) - Old Lady at Seance *''

Shining Through ''Shining Through'' is a 1992 American World War II drama film which was released to United States cinemas on January 31, 1992, written and directed by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Ric ...

'' (1992) - Babysitter *''

Leon the Pig Farmer ''Leon the Pig Farmer'' is a 1992 United Kingdom, British comedy about a Jewish estate agent in London who discovers that thanks to an artificial insemination mishap, his real father owns a pig farm in Yorkshire. It was directed by Vadim Jean an ...

'' (1992) - Woman *''

The Man Who Cried ''The Man Who Cried'' is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, and starring Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro. The film tells the story of a young Jewish girl who, after being ...

'' (2000) - Grandmother *'' Paradise Grove'' (2003) - Ruth Posnitch (final film role)

References

Sources

* "Holocaust diarist is played by actress granddaughter", Dalya Alberge, ''Evening Standard'', Dri 11 Jan 2013 p. 29

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pravda, Hana Maria 1916 births 2008 deaths Czech stage actresses Czech television actresses British television actresses British Jews Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Czechoslovak emigrants to the United Kingdom Czech diarists Women diarists British people of Czech-Jewish descent 20th-century diarists