Vladislav Vančura
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Vladislav Vančura () (23 June 1891 in
Háj ve Slezsku Háj ve Slezsku (; german: Freiheitsau) is a municipality and village in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,200 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Chabičov, Jilešovice, Lhota and Smolk ...
– 1 June 1942 in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
) was an important
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, ...
writer active in the 20th century, who was murdered by the Nazis. He was also active as a
film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...
,
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 ...
and
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. ...
.


Early years

Vančura was born on 23 June 1891 in
Háj ve Slezsku Háj ve Slezsku (; german: Freiheitsau) is a municipality and village in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,200 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Chabičov, Jilešovice, Lhota and Smolk ...
in
Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...
(today the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
). He was a descendant of an old noble Vančura of Řehnice family. His father Václav Vojtěch Vančura, born 1856 in
Čáslav Čáslav (; german: Tschaslau) is a town in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Adminis ...
, was a
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and worked as an administrator of sugar refinery. His mother, Marie Svobodová was Catholic, born 1863 in Kluky near Čáslav. In 1896, the family moved to Davle on the riverside of
Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at ...
, about 12 miles south of Prague, where they lived in a large country house. His broadminded father became a director of a brick factory. In Davle, young Vladislav was educated by a tutor between 1898-1904. In 1905, he and his older sisters moved to Prague to study there; Vladislav entered the fifth class of Elementary School in Josefská Street.


First prose-works and teenage years

In 1907 Vladislav entered the Royal Gymnasium in Prague
Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant cente ...
, but problems with school routine and pedantry of professors made him leave the next year. Between 1909 and 1910, he attended Royal Gymnasium in a small town of
Benešov Benešov (; german: Beneschau; also known as Benešov u Prahy) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the Konopiště Castle. Administrative parts Villages of Baba, ...
, about 30 miles south-east of Prague. It was an old school founded in 1704 and formerly led by the Piarist Order, with severe discipline and rigid professors. Vančura hated this school immensely; on 14 May 1909 he published his first short story ''V aleji'' ("In Alley") in the literary supplement of ''Horkého týdeník'' ("Horký's weekly magazine"). The studies in Benešov ended in 1910 by a '' consilium abeundi'' because of his membership in a secret student club. His parents sent him to
Vysoké Mýto Vysoké Mýto (; german: Hohenmaut, also ''Hohenmauth'') is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Its town square is the largest example of its type in the country. ...
to be an apprentice to a bookseller Čermák. He felt depressed and dreamed of becoming a painter. In 1911, he studied the technology of photography in Prague and also began courses at Arts and Crafts School;he was unsuccessful in his attempt to enter the Royal Academy of Arts and start a career as a painter. He considered suicide because his parents wanted him to be a marine officer or soldier. Due to the illness of his mother, Vladislav returned to Davle. In 1912 he studied privately at home and completed the exams of 4th and 5th class of the gymnasium. The next year he entered Royal Gymnasium on Křemencová Street in Prague and finished the 6th class. Between 1914 and 1915 he was again a student at Prague Malá Strana Royal Gymnasium where he took the final exam on 6 June 1915.


University studies, journalism

In October 1915, Vladislav entered the Faculty of Law of
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 , under ...
in Prague, but this bored him. In the winter of 1916 he studied medicine at the same university; his family moved from Davle to a country manor Humburky, not far from Prague and Vladislav met 19-year-old Ludmila 'Lída' Tuhá, a student of medicine. In 1917, the painter group ''Tvrdošíjní'' ("Stubborns") was founded by
Josef Čapek Josef Čapek (; 23 March 1887 – April 1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek. ...
,
Jan Zrzavý Jan Zrzavý (5 November 1890 – 12 October 1977) was a leading Czech painter, graphic artist and illustrator of the 20th century. Biography He was born in Vadín in Bohemia, today a part of Okrouhlice near Havlíčkův Brod in the Czech Republi ...
,
Václav Špála Václav Špála (24 August 1885 in Žlunice – 13 May 1946 in Prague) was a Czech painter, graphic designer and illustrator. He studied at Prague Academy. He was a member of the group Tvrdošíjní (The Obstinate) and exhibited with them. At th ...
, Vlastimil Hofman, Bedřich Feuerstein,
Zdeněk Rykr Zdenek Rykr (26 October 1900 – 15 January 1940) was a Czechoslovak painter, illustrator, journalist, and theater designer. Life Zdenek Rykr was born in the Chotěboř train station. When he was seven his family moved to Kolín, where his fathe ...
and other close friends of Vladislav. He wrote about them and Josef Čapek became the congenial illustrator of his later book ''Rozmarné léto'' in 1926. Between 1 October and 31 December 1918 Vladislav practiced medicine at a hospital in Německý Brod. A few days later, on 3 October, he published his small prose ''Ráj'' ("Paradise") in S. K. Neumann's magazine ''Červen'' ("June") and worked on a fairy-tale book ''Kolébka'' ("Cradle") and on a play ''Iason''. In 1919 Vladislav returned to Prague to continue his university studies; from 1919–1920 he published many art reviews in daily newspaper ''České slovo'' ("The Czech Word").


1920s and great novels

On 2 June 1921 Vladislav and Lída graduated as
doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...
s of
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
and married on 16 August that year. In autumn, they moved to
Zbraslav Zbraslav (; german: Königsaal; Latin ''Aula Regia'') is a municipal district and cadastral area of Prague. The southernmost district of Prague, it lies on the Vltava River in the national administrative district of Prague 16. The former indepe ...
, where they opened a surgical practice. In 1923, Vladislav published a book of short stories ''Amazonský proud'' ("Amazon Stream"). More important was his second short stories book, published in 1924, ''Dlouhý, Široký a Bystrozraký'' ("Long, Thick and Sharpsighted"), containing excellent texts like ''Cesta do světa'' (Journey to the World) or ''F. C. Ball''. The third book, ''Pekař Jan Marhoul'' ("Baker Jan Marhoul"), published in 1924, introduced him as a great author to the public. It is Vančura's first novel and maybe also his best - story of tragical life of a wealthy baker who is continuously declining into destitution and death despite his gentleness and goodness. The story is written with extraordinary language and a brilliant style. In 1925, Vančura published the novel ''Pole orná a válečná'' ("Fields of Plough, Fields of War") and the following year the novel ''Rozmarné léto'' ("Summer of Caprice"), became a bestseller. It is a humorous story of three men - a colonel, a priest and a bath-keeper - during rainy summer holidays. In 1967, the book was successfully filmed as '' Capricious Summer'' by the Czech director
Jiří Menzel Jiří Menzel () (23 February 1938 – 5 September 2020) was a Czech film director, theatre director, actor, and screenwriter. His films often combine a humanistic view of the world with sarcasm and provocative cinematography. Some of these f ...
who also played the role of Arnoštek in this movie. In 1928 Vančura wrote his fourth novel, ''Poslední soud'' ("Last Judgement"), published in 1929 and built his new white functionalistic villa in Zbraslav designed by architect
Jaromír Krejcar (25 July 1895, Hundsheim, Austria – 5 October 1950, London) was a Czech functionalistic architect, student of Jan Kotěra and member of Devětsil. He collaborated with Czech structural engineer, Dr. Jaroslav Josef Polivka on the internati ...
, the husband of
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...
's friend, journalist and translator
Milena Jesenská Milena Jesenská (; 10 August 1896 – 17 May 1944) was a Czech journalist, writer, editor and translator. Early life Jesenská was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic). Her family is believed to descend from Jan Jesenius, ...
.


1930s and great novels

Vančura's fifth novel ''Hrdelní pře aneb Přísloví'' ("Criminal Dispute or The Proverbs") published in 1930 in Aventinum Publishing House, Prague, was not very popular in its time; it is the most complicated of Vančura's novels, the genre of which lies between a
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
and a
tract Tract may refer to: Geography and real estate * Housing tract, an area of land that is subdivided into smaller individual lots * Land lot or tract, a section of land * Census tract, a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census W ...
on
noetics In philosophy, noetics is a purposed branch of metaphysics concerned with the study of mind as well as intellect. There is also a reference to the science of noetics, which covers the field of thinking and knowing, thought and knowledge, as well as ...
. From the language point of view this book is a serious problem for translators because of hundreds of old
proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...
s used in text; there is only one translation today - Polish. In 1931, the novel ''Markéta Lazarová'' was published and became a bestseller. The novel was inspired by a true
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
story of the knights of the Vančura family who were in a private war with other noblemen and with the King's town
Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive ind ...
. Vančura dedicated this book to his cousin and friend Jiří Mahen. In 1967, the book was successfully
filmed Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
by director František Vláčil. In the same year (1931) Vančura also published a fairy-tale book ''Kubula a Kuba Kubikula'' (Kubula and Kuba Kubikula) that remained popular for decades. Vančura's activity continued through the next year as he published the novel ''Útěk do Budína'' ("Escape to Budapest"), a contemporary story of love, marriage and life of a Prague middle-class woman and a Slovak nobleman. In 1934, two other books were published: ''Luk královny Dorotky'' ("Bow of Little Queen Dorothy"), a collection of short stories and '' Konec starých časů'' ("End of the Old Times") a bestseller, satirical and humorous novel about the life at a Bohemian country-chateau in the first years of the republic (this book was also successfully filmed by Jiří Menzel in 1989). In 1934 also, Vančura directed the film ''Marika Nevěrnice'', from a story by
Ivan Olbracht Ivan Olbracht, born Kamil Zeman (6 January 1882, Semily, Bohemia – 20 December 1952, Prague) was a Czech writer, journalist and translator of German prose. Biography The son of writer Antal Stašek and his Jewish-born Catholic convert wife K ...
. With the 'End of the Old Times', the time of Vančura's best books ended too. His next two books, a play ''Jezero Ukerewe'' ("Ukerewe Lake") from 1935 and a socialism-influenced book ''Tři řeky'' ("Three Rivers"), 1936 were not successful.


1940s, political crisis and war

In March 1938,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
annexed
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Vančura's friend, playwright
Otokar Fischer Otokar Fischer (20 May 1883 – 12 March 1938) was a Czech translator, playwright, poet and critic. He was born in Kolín, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He made new translations of Goethe, Shakespeare and Villon. He was a profes ...
died of a heart-attack when he learned about it; Vančura wrote an obituary about him to ''Literární listy'' magazine. In 1938, ''Rodina Horvátova'' ("Horvát Family"), a novel about life of three generations of a
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...
family was published which did not attract any reader interest, due to the political crisis. In December 1938, Vančura took part in the burial of his friend
Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...
, the famous writer. Vančura entered the strong anti-Hitler cultural movement and started to write the book ''Obrazy z dějin národa českého'' (Pictures of the History of the Bohemian Nation); its first parts were published and then became a bestseller and symbol of resistance. On 15 March 1939 the rest of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Hitler and a week later, on 22 May, Jiří Mahen committed suicide in a protest against
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
. Vančura was a member of the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...
since its founding. He was expelled from the party in 1929 for signing the Manifesto of the Seven, nonetheless he continued to support the Communist Party. During the
German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
, Vančura joined a secret communist resistance group in Autumn 1939. On 12 May 1942, at 5:00 a.m., the
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
assaulted his house in Zbraslav, arrested him and tortured him in the Prague
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
headquarters. On 27 May 1942 a
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of the Czechoslovak Foreign Army based in Britain assassinated
Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, Hitler's governor in Prague. As a result, there was a wave of reprisals: in the following weeks more than 2000 members of the Czech elite were executed. One of them was Vančura, executed by SS members in the military area Prague-Kobylisy on 1 June 1942 at 6:45 p.m. His body together with many others was disposed of secretly at
Strašnice Crematorium Strašnice Crematorium (in cs, link=no, Krematorium Strašnice) is the largest crematory in Europe in terms of area. President Václav Havel was cremated here. The crematorium was involved in the disposal of those who had been executed by the ...
.Riskoval život, tajně zapisoval jména obětí nacistů. Teď o tom promluvil
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Selected works


Novels

*''Pekař Jan Marhoul'' (1924) *''Pole orná a válečná'' (1925), English ''Ploughshares into Swords''. Prague: Karolinum Press (2021). *''Rozmarné léto'' (1926), English ''Summer of Caprice''. Prague: Karolinum Press (2006). . 2nd edition: Prague: Karolinum Press (2016). . *'' Markéta Lazarová'' (1931) *''Obrazy z dějin národa českého'' (1939–1940)


Plays

*''Alchymista'' (1932) *''Jezero Ukereve'' (1935) *''Josefína'' (1941)


Filmography


Director

*'' On the Sunny Side'' (1933) *''Bursa práce'' (1933) *''Marijka nevěrnice'' (1934) *''Naši furianti'' (1937) *''Láska a lidé'' (1937)


References


External links


Complete list of Vančura translations
(English, French, Spanish, German and other translations) * A four minute
recording of part of the ''Peevish Summer''
(in
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, ...
) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vancura, Vladislav 1891 births 1942 deaths People from Opava District People from Austrian Silesia 20th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights Czech male dramatists and playwrights Czech medical writers Czech film directors Czech theatre critics Czech communists Executed writers Executed Czech people Charles University alumni Executed Czechoslovak people Czech people executed by Nazi Germany Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk People executed by Germany by firing squad People executed at Kobylisy shooting range Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members Czech anti-fascists