Jan Sviták
Encyclopedia
Jan Sviták was a Czech actor and film director. He was an important exponent of Czechoslovak film in the interwar period
and during World War II
. Sviták was murdered shortly after the liberation of Prague
in 1945.
company. During World War I
, he studied at the Naval School in Pula
and joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy
. He was a crewman on the battleship SMS Wien
, which was sunk on 10 December 1917. Sviták was not physically harmed in the catastrophe, and soon after, he was awarded the Bravery Medal but the sinking was a traumatic experience. It permanently marked his life, particularly his underlying attitudes and mental state. With the end of the War and the establishment of the Czechoslovak State, he devoted himself to theatre. He was engaged as an actor by travelling theatre companies, and went on perform in the theatres in Olomouc
, Ostrava
and Bratislava
(as an ensemble member of the Slovak National Theatre
), and at the National Theatre
in Prague
. His performances drew positive responses. Several Austrian critics remarked his acting talents during his engagement in Vienna
. In the 1930s, he was engaged by the theatre owned by the interwar Czechoslovak film and theatre star, Vlasta Burian
.
Sviták took his first film parts in the late 1920s. His first roles in this silent era
were in Podskalák, Plukovník Švec and Hříšná krev. These early roles were minor and rather stereotypical – army officers, adventurers and smooth intriguers. He took his first directorial steps in 1932/33, under Josef Rovenský's supervision, and soon became a prominent filmmaker in Czechoslovakia. In 1939, Sviták became director of the Foja film studios, in the Prague district Radlice, and took increasing responsibility for the administrative and organizational aspects of film-making.
established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
in the central parts of Czechia, and Slovakia
became a nominally independent state. In the Nazi-administered Protectorate, Sviták continued his activities in the film industry. Up to the 1941, he directed 15 films, the most popular of which was (and still is) Přednosta stanice
, starring Vlasta Burian and Jaroslav Marvan
. He was given directorship of the Filmprüfstelle, a German institute controlling the film production and censorship in the Protectorate. It was an important post. As director, Sviták had to negotiate with German representatives, and his decisions were subordinated to their authority. This led to speculation that he was a Nazi collaborator. According to some testimonies, he used his position and influence to obtain the release of certain Czech political prisoners: after the War, the Czech actress and writer Jarmila Svatá testified that she escaped arrest by the Nazis, mainly thanks to Sviták's intervention. Sviták remained a close friend of the passionate anti-Nazi activist, reporter and journalist František Kocourek. On several occasions, he warned Kocourek to be more discreet; he also managed to stop two investigations into Kocourek's activities. Despite this, Kocourek later died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Sviták also tried to warn the prominent Czech singer and actor Karel Hašler
, who was later murdered in Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen
. Sviták's situation during the World War II was complicated. While he used his office to mitigate some of the worst effects of the Nazi occupation within his own circle, he worked and negotiated with Nazism's representatives in Czechia. His wartime role was therefore assessed negatively by the Czech public.
and others. The soldier shot Sviták in the head. After several hours, Sviták's wife found his dead body lying on the street. He was buried in Plzeň. Later, the Czech journalist Stanislav Motl attempted to gather the facts about Sviták's war activities and death in the book Mraky nad Barrandovem. However, the circumstances of his death and his alleged collaboration with Nazis were never properly investigated. The Czech director Otakar Vávra later commented: "It was a lynching. It was a time when people started to seek revenge for the whole period of occupation. And they revenged on anything that came to hand. No justice. No trials. That was out of the question. The first time [after the war] was like this."
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Sviták was murdered shortly after the liberation of Prague
Prague uprising
The Prague uprising was an attempt by the Czech resistance to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation during World War II. Events began on May 5, 1945, in the last moments of the war in Europe...
in 1945.
Early life
Sviták was born in Plzeň, where his father worked as a clerk for the Škoda PlzeňŠkoda Works
Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...
company. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he studied at the Naval School in Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
and joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
. He was a crewman on the battleship SMS Wien
SMS Wien
SMS Wien was a pre-dreadnought battleship and coastal defense ship of the Monarch class that was constructed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the end of the 19th century. The Wien was laid down in the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyards in Trieste on the same day as her sister ship Budapest,...
, which was sunk on 10 December 1917. Sviták was not physically harmed in the catastrophe, and soon after, he was awarded the Bravery Medal but the sinking was a traumatic experience. It permanently marked his life, particularly his underlying attitudes and mental state. With the end of the War and the establishment of the Czechoslovak State, he devoted himself to theatre. He was engaged as an actor by travelling theatre companies, and went on perform in the theatres in Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
, Ostrava
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
and Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
(as an ensemble member of the Slovak National Theatre
Slovak National Theatre
The Slovak National Theatre denotes:* the oldest Slovak professional theatre consisting of 3 ensembles ,* a Neo-Renaissance theatre building in the Old Town of Bratislava, Slovakia, which formerly housed two of the theatre's ensembles , and* the theatre's large modern theatre building in...
), and at the National Theatre
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. His performances drew positive responses. Several Austrian critics remarked his acting talents during his engagement in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. In the 1930s, he was engaged by the theatre owned by the interwar Czechoslovak film and theatre star, Vlasta Burian
Vlasta Burian
Josef Vlastimil Burian, better known as Vlasta Burian, was a Czech stage and film actor, singer, comedian, footballer and a film director...
.
Sviták took his first film parts in the late 1920s. His first roles in this silent era
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
were in Podskalák, Plukovník Švec and Hříšná krev. These early roles were minor and rather stereotypical – army officers, adventurers and smooth intriguers. He took his first directorial steps in 1932/33, under Josef Rovenský's supervision, and soon became a prominent filmmaker in Czechoslovakia. In 1939, Sviták became director of the Foja film studios, in the Prague district Radlice, and took increasing responsibility for the administrative and organizational aspects of film-making.
Activities in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
In 1939, after the invasion of German troops, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and split into two countries. Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
in the central parts of Czechia, and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
became a nominally independent state. In the Nazi-administered Protectorate, Sviták continued his activities in the film industry. Up to the 1941, he directed 15 films, the most popular of which was (and still is) Přednosta stanice
Prednosta stanice
Přednosta stanice is a 1941 Czechoslovak movie, starring the then star comedian Vlasta Burian. It has a running time of 88 minutes and was directed by Jan Sviták....
, starring Vlasta Burian and Jaroslav Marvan
Jaroslav Marvan
Jaroslav Marvan was a Czechoslovak actor. He was born in Prague. He was married since the 1920s with Marie Marvanová and had a daughter with Alena Jančaříková....
. He was given directorship of the Filmprüfstelle, a German institute controlling the film production and censorship in the Protectorate. It was an important post. As director, Sviták had to negotiate with German representatives, and his decisions were subordinated to their authority. This led to speculation that he was a Nazi collaborator. According to some testimonies, he used his position and influence to obtain the release of certain Czech political prisoners: after the War, the Czech actress and writer Jarmila Svatá testified that she escaped arrest by the Nazis, mainly thanks to Sviták's intervention. Sviták remained a close friend of the passionate anti-Nazi activist, reporter and journalist František Kocourek. On several occasions, he warned Kocourek to be more discreet; he also managed to stop two investigations into Kocourek's activities. Despite this, Kocourek later died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Sviták also tried to warn the prominent Czech singer and actor Karel Hašler
Karel Hašler
Karel Hašler was a Czech songwriter, actor, lyricist, film and theatre director, composer, writer, dramatist, screenwriter and cabaretier...
, who was later murdered in Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
. Sviták's situation during the World War II was complicated. While he used his office to mitigate some of the worst effects of the Nazi occupation within his own circle, he worked and negotiated with Nazism's representatives in Czechia. His wartime role was therefore assessed negatively by the Czech public.
Death
On 10 May 1945, in the first days after the liberation of Prague, a group led by one of Sviták's closest collaborators in office broke into Sviták's flat, and took him for interrogation at the police station in Bartolomějská Street. He was detained there overnight but was released the following morning, only to fall into the hands of a "fanatical mob" bent on revenge. He was dragged to the front of the Church of St. Martin in the Wall. Half-naked and scared, Sviták faced the attacks of the crowd, among them some of his erstwhile colleagues. A passing Soviet soldier noticed the lynching and asked what was going on. People shouted that Sviták deserved death as a traitor and Nazi informer who had denounced HašlerKarel Hašler
Karel Hašler was a Czech songwriter, actor, lyricist, film and theatre director, composer, writer, dramatist, screenwriter and cabaretier...
and others. The soldier shot Sviták in the head. After several hours, Sviták's wife found his dead body lying on the street. He was buried in Plzeň. Later, the Czech journalist Stanislav Motl attempted to gather the facts about Sviták's war activities and death in the book Mraky nad Barrandovem. However, the circumstances of his death and his alleged collaboration with Nazis were never properly investigated. The Czech director Otakar Vávra later commented: "It was a lynching. It was a time when people started to seek revenge for the whole period of occupation. And they revenged on anything that came to hand. No justice. No trials. That was out of the question. The first time [after the war] was like this."
Director
- Anita v ráji (1934)
- Dokud máš maminku (1934)
- Grandhotel Nevada (1934)
- Život vojenský - život veselý (1934)
- Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1935)
- Pan otec Karafiát (1935)
- Divoch (1936)
- Divoch (German version) (1936)
- Rozvod paní Evy (1937)
- Srdce na kolejích (1937)
- Třetí zvonění (1938)
- Srdce v celofánu (1939)
- U svatého Matěje (1939)
- Poslední Podskalák (1940)
- Přednosta stanicePrednosta stanicePřednosta stanice is a 1941 Czechoslovak movie, starring the then star comedian Vlasta Burian. It has a running time of 88 minutes and was directed by Jan Sviták....
(1941)
Actor
- Podskalák (1928)
- Hříšná krev (1929)
- Plukovník Švec (1929)
- Tonka Šibenice (1930)
- Aféra plukovníka Redla (1931)
- Karel Havlíček Borovský (1931)
- Miláček pluku (1931)
- On a jeho sestraOn a jeho sestraHim and His Sister is a Czech comedy film directed by Karel Lamač and Martin Frič. It was released in 1931.-Cast:* Vlasta Burian as Jarda Brabec* Anny Ondra as Anny Brabcová, jeho sestra* Otto Rubík as Bernard...
(1931) - Psohlavci (1931)
- Pudr a benzinPudr a benzínPudr a benzín is a Czech comedy film. It was released in 1931....
(1931) - Třetí rota (1931)
- Extase (1932)
- Extase (Austrian version, 1932)
- Funebrák (1932)
- Lelíček ve službách Sherlocka HolmeseLelíček ve službách Sherlocka HolmeseLelíček ve službách Sherlocka Holmese is a 1932 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Karel Lamač....
(1932) - Malostranští mušketýři (1932)
- Načeradec král kibiců (1932)
- Její lékař (1933)
- Řeka (1933)
- Štvaní lidé (1933)
- Záhada modrého pokoje (1933)
- Dokud máš maminku (1934)
- Za řádovými dveřmi (1934)
- Život vojenský - život veselý (1934)
- Hrdina jedné nociHrdina jedné nociHrdina jedné noci is a Czech comedy film directed by Martin Frič. It was released in 1935.-Cast:* Vlasta Burian - Florián Svícicka* Truda Grosslichtová - Elvíra Thompsonová / statistka Hana* Václav Trégl - Jarda, nezamestnaný...
(1935) - JánošíkJánošík (1935 film)-Cast:* Palo Bielik as Juraj Jánosík* Zlata Hajdúková as Anka* Andrej Bagar as Master Sándor* Theodor Pištěk as Count Andre Markusovský* Filip Davidik as Janicko, shepherd boy* Kudo Bachlet as A Janosik "Brigand"* Mirko Eliás as A Janosik "Brigand"...
(1935) - Irčin románek (1936)
- Páter VojtěchFather Vojtech (1936 film)-Cast:* Rolf Wanka as Vojtěch Dvorecký* Ladislav H. Struna as Karel* Jaroslav Marvan as Dvorecký, mlynár* Jiřina Štěpničková as Frantina* Ella Nollová as Jozífkova matka* Theodor Pištěk as Petr, stárek* Josef Příhoda as Mikuska...
(1936) - Hrdinové hranic (1938)
- Píseň lásky (1940)