Zdenka Fantlová (28 March 1922 – 14 November 2022) 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 ...

actor 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. ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

Biography

Fantlová was born in

Blatná Blatná (; ) is a town in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,700 inhabitants. It is known for a water castle in the centre of a fishpond, and a landscape garden around it. The historic town centr ...

on 28 March 1922, and grew up in

Rokycany Rokycany (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Admini ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. She and her family, like large parts of the Jewish population in Czechoslovakia, were deported in January 1942 to the ghetto in

Theresienstadt 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 c ...

, where her boyfriend Arno had also previously been taken. Faced with the prospect of being abducted from Theresienstadt, Arno made a

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

ring with the inscription "Arno 13.6.1942" which he gave to Zdenka as an engagement gift. The next day, Arno was abducted and never seen again. Under difficult circumstances, Zdenka kept the

ring as a memento of her youthful love, and it later became part of the title of her autobiography. Fantlová participated in the theatre activities that occurred in Theresienstadt. The ghetto was closed in autumn 1944 and its inhabitants were moved on to other camps. On 17 October 1944, Fantlová and her mother and sister were deported in cattle cars to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

, where the mother was murdered shortly after arrival. She and her sister Lydia then passed through the camps

Gross-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, d ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Mauthausen in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and finally

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

, where her sister Lydia died in the

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

epidemic that raged there. Fantlová survived and was liberated by the British Army on 15 April 1945. Fantlová stayed for a time in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, where she received care and recovery under the auspices of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Fantlová emigrated in 1949 to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

where she worked as an actor, and in 1969 moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. For many years, she came to visit schools and other organisations and tell about her experiences of

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

abuse during the

Second World War 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 ...

. Fantlová died on 14 November 2022, at the age of 100.

Bibliography

*''Klid je síla, řek̕ tatínek''. Primus. 1996. . OCLC 36752461 *''My lucky star''. New York: Herodias. 2001. Libris 6938579. *Fantlová, Zdenka; Viney, Deryck (2012). ''The Tin Ring: how I cheated death''.

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

: McNidder & Grace. Libris 16015278. *Haggith, Toby; Newman, Joanna, eds. (2005).'' Holocaust and the moving image: representations in film and television since 1933''. Includes a contribution by Zdenka Fantlová. London: Wallflower Press. Libris 9805801.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fantlova, Zdenka 1922 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Czech actors 21st-century Czech women writers Czechoslovak Holocaust survivors Jewish women writers People from Strakonice District Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Czechoslovak Jews Gross-Rosen concentration camp survivors Mauthausen concentration camp survivors Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Women in World War II 21st-century Czech writers Czech women centenarians Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Jewish centenarians