Ludvík Aškenazy (24 February 1921 – 18 March 1986) was a Czech-Jewish writer and journalist.

Biography

Aškenazy was born on 24 February 1921 in

Český Těšín Český Těšín (; ; ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Český Těšín lies on the west bank of the Olza (river), Olza river, in the heart of the historical ...

. After the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

his family emigrated to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and lived in Stanisławów (present-day

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

, Ukraine), which was later annexed by USSR. Later he moved to

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

to study the Slavonic philology. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was a soldier in the Czech units of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

in 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 ...

. He 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 Com ...

. Between 1945 and 1950, he worked in the state Czechoslovak Radio and after that, he became a government-sanctioned "writer." After the

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...

in 1968, he left for

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

and until 1976 lived in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Between 1976 and 1986, he lived in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

town of

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

with his wife,

Leonie Mann Leonie or (in French) Léonie or (in German) Leonie is a Latin-origin feminine given name meaning "lioness", from the masculine personal name '' Leon'' (meaning "lion"). It is rare as a surname. People People with the name or its variants include: ...

, daughter of the German writer

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; March 27, 1871 – March 11, 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German writer known for his sociopolitical novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

. He had two sons, Jindřich Mann, also a writer, and Ludwik Mann, who illustrated a number of his books. He won the

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

in 1977 for his book ''Wo die Füchse Blockflöte spielen'', and was shortlisted for the same prize in 1993 for ''Der Schlittschuhkarpfen''. Aškenazy died on 18 March 1986 in

, Italy, aged 65. He is celebrated in an annual festival in the town of

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 ...

List of publications (partial)

* ''Wo die Füchse Blockflöte spielen'' (1977) * ''Der Schlittschuhkarpfen'' (1981) * ''Du bist einmalig'' * ''Blaubart und die Elefanten'' (1983)

Filmography

* 1953: ''Můj přítel Fabian'' – Director:

Jiří Weiss Jiří Weiss (29 March 1913 – 9 April 2004) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, writer, playwright and pedagogue. Life Early life Jiří Weiss was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Prague. His father was a Czech patriot and named his son ...

* 1957: ''

Tam na konečné ''At the Terminus'' () is a 1957 Czechoslovak film. The film starred Josef Kemr Josef Kemr (20 June 1922 – 15 January 1995) was a Czech actor. He starred in the 1969/1970 film ''Witchhammer'' under director Otakar Vávra. Selected filmog ...

'' – Director:

Ján Kadár Ján Kadár (1 April 1918 – 1 June 1979) was a Slovak film writer and director of Jewish heritage. As a filmmaker, he worked in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Canada. Most of his films were directed in tandem with Elmar Klos. The two b ...

Elmar Klos Elmar Klos (26 January 1910 – 19 July 1993) was a Czech film director. He collaborated for 17 years with his Slovak colleague Ján Kadár and with him won the 1965 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for the film '' The Shop on Main Stree ...

* 1959: '' Májové hvězdy'' – Director:

Stanislav Rostotsky Stanislav Iosifovich Rostotsky (; 21 April 1922, Rybinsk – 10 August 2001, Vyborgsky District) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1974. Early years Stanislav Rostotsky was ...

* 1964: '' Křik'' – Director:

Jaromil Jireš Jaromil Jireš (10 December 1935 – 24 October 2001) was a director associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement. Work His 1963 film '' The Cry'' was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. It is often described as the first film o ...

(Screenplay) * 1974:

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

– 3:0 for Veigl (Actor)

Translations into English

* Ашкенази Л. ''Чёрная шкатулка (зонги, баллады и истории).'' Перевёл с чешского на русский и английский Александр Лейзерович. Ashkenazy L. ''A Little Black Casket (songs, ballads, and tales).'' Translated from Czech into Russian and English by Alexander Leyzerovich. – Sunnyvale, CA: All Digital Club, 2002. – 140 p.

References

External links