Jiřina Švorcová (25 May 1928 – 8 August 2011) 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 *Czech (surnam ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and pro-

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. Her acting career lasted more than forty years, but she largely retired after the 1989

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

and devoted herself to advocacy of the Communist Party. Švorcová worked in

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

during the

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czecho ...

. She spent more than forty years at the

Vinohrady Theatre Vinohrady Theatre () 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 Vladimír Županský depicting ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Her best known work came during the 1970s in the Czechoslovak television series, ''

Žena za pultem ''Žena za pultem'' (the woman behind the counter) was a Czechoslovak television programme which was first broadcast in 1977. The programme was directed by Jaroslav Dietl. The programme was noted for an erotic scene, which received attention from ...

'' or ''A Woman Behind the Counter''. Švorcová was a devote supporter of Communism and a supporter of the former Communist government of Czechoslovakia. In 1976, Švorcová was appointed to the leadership 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 Com ...

. She openly condemned the signatories of

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

, who included

Pavel Kohout Pavel Kohout (born 20 July 1928) is a Czech and Austrian novelist, playwright, and poet. He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a Prague Spring participant and dissident in the 1970s until he was not allowed to return from A ...

and

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, as "traitors" to Communism and the country. She reiterated her disapproval of Charter 77 in a December 2010 interview with a

Czech Radio Czech Radio (, ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating continuously since 1923. It is the oldest national radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second-oldest in Europe after the BBC. Czech Radio was esta ...

reporter, "I think it’s wrong when someone finds out that they could not cope with the idea they helped to bring about. There were many, such as Pavel Kohout, who also believed the idea, but then they couldn’t cope with it and so they abandoned it. I think that’s wrong." Švorcová openly described her shock at the violence inflicted on protesters during the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

and subsequent invasion, but said she could never join the protests saying, "soon as people started to attack the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, calling them fascists and so on, I just could not do that. I absolutely couldn’t do that." Due to her communist views, Švorcová's fellow actors at the Vinohrady Theatre, who supported the

, no longer supported her work at the theater after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Jiřina Švorcová retired from acting after 1989. She spent the rest of her life as an activist for communism and supporter of the former Czechoslovak government. She died in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, on 8 August 2011, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svorcova, Jirina 1928 births 2011 deaths Czech communists Czechoslovak communists Czech television actresses Czech stage actresses Czech film actresses 20th-century Czech actresses