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 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 and were subsequently transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp where they became separated. She survived the camp and the subsequent January 1945 Death marches (Holocaust), death march 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 Švandovo divadlo, realistic theatre where she met George Pravda. She emigrated to the United Kingdom with him and continued her career. Pravda's most well-known role was as Emma Cohen in the 1970s television drama ''Survivors (1975 TV series), Survivors''. She also appeared as the wife of the innkeeper (played by her real-life husband George Pravda, George) in the Jack Palance version of ''Dracula (1974 film), Dracula'' (1974). Other TV credits include: ''Danger Man'', ''Department S (TV series), Department S'', ''Callan (TV series), Callan'', ''Z-Cars'', ''Dad's Army'' and ''Tales of the Unexpected (TV series), 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 film), On the Sunny Side'' (1933) - Willi *''Marijka nevěrnice'' (1934) *''První políbení'' (1935) - Věra *''Nikola Šuhaj'' (1947) *''The Long Shadow (1961 film), The Long Shadow'' (1961) - Matron *''Before Winter Comes'' (1969) - Beata *''The Kremlin Letter'' (1970) - Mrs. Kazar *''And Soon the Darkness (1970 film), And Soon the Darkness'' (1970) - Madame Lassal *''Death Wish 3'' (1985) - Mrs. Kaprov *''The Unbearable Lightness of Being (film), The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' (1988) *''Follow Me (film), Follow Me'' (1989) - 2. alte Frau *''Bullseye! (1990 film), Bullseye!'' (1990) - Old Lady at Seance *''Shining Through'' (1992) - Babysitter *''Leon the Pig Farmer'' (1992) - Woman *''The Man Who Cried'' (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. 29External 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