Ondřej Sekora
Encyclopedia
Ondřej Sekora was a Czech
painter
, illustrator
, writer
, journalist
and entomologist. He is known mainly as an author of children books. Sekora was also one of the first propagators of rugby
in Czechoslovakia
.
in Vyškov
. He then studied at the Faculty of Law of Masaryk University
. From 1921 he worked as a sports editor, illustrator, reporter and commentator for Lidové noviny
newspaper in Brno. In 1923 he married Markéta Kalabusová, but was divorced a year later. From 1929 to 1931 he studied privately as a pupil of Professor Arnošt Hofbauer. In 1927 the editorial office of Lidové noviny moved to Prague.
Sekora married his second wife, Ludmila Roubíčková, in 1931. A year later she bore him a son, who was also named Ondřej. In 1941, during World War II
, he was forced to leave his job and expelled from the Federation of Czech Journalists. The reason was his mixed marriage. His second wife, Ludmila, was of Jewish origin, and the whole family was persecuted by Germans
as racially mixed. From October 1944 to April 1945 he was imprisoned in the German labor camp
s in Kleinstein (Poland
) and Osterode
(Germany
). His wife was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
. In Osterode, Sekora met and befriended Czech actor Oldřich Nový
, with whom he attempted to organize the puppet theatre in the camp. Both Sekora and his wife survived the imprisonment, and he later described his experience in his diary.
Following World War II he worked as an editor in the magazines Práce (Work) and Dikobraz (Porcupine). From 1949 he also led one of the sections of the Státní nakladatelství dětské knihy (SNDK) (State Publishing House of Children Books). In his later years Sekora devoted himself solely to painting, writing and illustration. In 1964 he was awarded the Meritorious Artist
title, and in 1966 he received the Marie Majerová Prize. His public activities ceased in 1964, after a heart attack. He died in 1967, and is buried in Prague-Košíře
.
He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
. In the post-war years he actively participated in the Czechoslovak communist agitation and propaganda.
Sekora trained the first Czech rugby clubs, Moravská Slávie in Brno-Pisárky and AFK Žižka Brno among others. He also created the Czech rugby terminology. He co-founded and edited the magazine Sport.
The Main-belt asteroid 13406 Sekora
, discovered in 1999, is named after him.
(as it was then) by Ondřej Sekora, when he returned from living in France
in 1926, with a rugby ball and set of rules. Brno
, the Moravia
n capital is considered the cradle of rugby in Czechoslovakia
, and is where the first match took place, between SK Moravská Slávie, based in Brno-Pisárky, and AFK Zizka, based in Brno. Both of these teams were trained by Sekora, who also coined Czech language
rugby terminology.
, Wilhelm Busch
and Albert Dubout
. His short stories were full of humor, with indications of situation comedy. The basis of his style was lively and dynamic drawing with clear contours, accompanied with quatrains. His verses were often inspired by folk speech. He is known as the creator of animated characters Ferda Mravenec ("Ferda the Ant") and Brouk Pytlík ("Pouch the Beetle").
The first three books about Ferda Mravenec (Ferda the Ant) were published in 1960s under the title Knížka Ferdy Mravence (The Book of Ferda the Ant).
Both books of Brouk Pytlík ("Pouch the Beetle") were published since 1969 under the title Brouk Pytlík.
Comics
Book illustration
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and entomologist. He is known mainly as an author of children books. Sekora was also one of the first propagators of rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
Biography
In 1919 he graduated from the gymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Vyškov
Vyškov
Vyškov is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,300 inhabitants.- History :By the middle of the 14th century, pest epidemics and starvation had virtually depopulated the entire area. The Catholic Church, the owners of the lands, administrated their properties...
. He then studied at the Faculty of Law of Masaryk University
Masaryk University
Masaryk University is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the third Czech university , it now consists of nine faculties and 42,182 students...
. From 1921 he worked as a sports editor, illustrator, reporter and commentator for Lidové noviny
Lidové noviny
Lidové noviny is a daily newspaper published in the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily. Its profile is nowadays a national news daily covering political, economic, cultural and scientific affairs, mostly with a centre-right, conservative view...
newspaper in Brno. In 1923 he married Markéta Kalabusová, but was divorced a year later. From 1929 to 1931 he studied privately as a pupil of Professor Arnošt Hofbauer. In 1927 the editorial office of Lidové noviny moved to Prague.
Sekora married his second wife, Ludmila Roubíčková, in 1931. A year later she bore him a son, who was also named Ondřej. In 1941, 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...
, he was forced to leave his job and expelled from the Federation of Czech Journalists. The reason was his mixed marriage. His second wife, Ludmila, was of Jewish origin, and the whole family was persecuted by Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
as racially mixed. From October 1944 to April 1945 he was imprisoned in the German labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s in Kleinstein (Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) and Osterode
Osterode
The placename Osterode can refer to:* Osterode in Germany* Osterode am Harz in Germany* Ostróda in Poland * a district of the climatic spa Neustadt/Harz, Germany...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
). His wife was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
. In Osterode, Sekora met and befriended Czech actor Oldřich Nový
Oldřich Nový
Oldřich Nový was a Czech film and theatre actor, director, composer, dramaturg and singer...
, with whom he attempted to organize the puppet theatre in the camp. Both Sekora and his wife survived the imprisonment, and he later described his experience in his diary.
Following World War II he worked as an editor in the magazines Práce (Work) and Dikobraz (Porcupine). From 1949 he also led one of the sections of the Státní nakladatelství dětské knihy (SNDK) (State Publishing House of Children Books). In his later years Sekora devoted himself solely to painting, writing and illustration. In 1964 he was awarded the Meritorious Artist
Meritorious Artist
Meritorious Artist , also translated as Merited Artist, Deserved Artist or Distinguished Artist or Honorary Artist or Honorable Actor) is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union republics, and Autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern bloc states, as well as in a...
title, and in 1966 he received the Marie Majerová Prize. His public activities ceased in 1964, after a heart attack. He died in 1967, and is buried in Prague-Košíře
Košíre
Košíře is a part of a municipal area Prague 5. It is situated in a valley of Motol brook between the city quarters Smíchov and Motol. Košíře was an autonomous city during 1896-1921.- History :...
.
He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....
. In the post-war years he actively participated in the Czechoslovak communist agitation and propaganda.
Sekora trained the first Czech rugby clubs, Moravská Slávie in Brno-Pisárky and AFK Žižka Brno among others. He also created the Czech rugby terminology. He co-founded and edited the magazine Sport.
The Main-belt asteroid 13406 Sekora
13406 Sekora
13406 Sekora is a main-belt asteroid discovered on October 2, 1999 by Lenka Šarounová at the Ondřejov Observatory. The asteroid is named after the Czech writer Ondřej Sekora.- External links :*...
, discovered in 1999, is named after him.
Rugby
Rugby union was introduced to CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
(as it was then) by Ondřej Sekora, when he returned from living in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1926, with a rugby ball and set of rules. Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, the Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n capital is considered the cradle of rugby in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, and is where the first match took place, between SK Moravská Slávie, based in Brno-Pisárky, and AFK Zizka, based in Brno. Both of these teams were trained by Sekora, who also coined Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
rugby terminology.
Style
Sekora became popular as an author of comic strips, published in Lidové noviny in 1930s and at the beginning of 1940s. He was inspired by cartoons of Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, Wilhelm Busch
Wilhelm Busch
Wilhelm Busch was an influential German caricaturist, painter, and poet who is famed for his satirical picture stories with rhymed texts....
and Albert Dubout
Albert Dubout
Albert Dubout was a French cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor.-Biography:Albert Dubout was born in Marseille...
. His short stories were full of humor, with indications of situation comedy. The basis of his style was lively and dynamic drawing with clear contours, accompanied with quatrains. His verses were often inspired by folk speech. He is known as the creator of animated characters Ferda Mravenec ("Ferda the Ant") and Brouk Pytlík ("Pouch the Beetle").
Selected works
Books- Rugby, jak se hraje a jeho pravidla ("Rugby, How to Play It and the Rules") (1926, translated from FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) - Ferda Mravenec ("Ferda the Ant") (1936)
- Ferda Mravenec v cizích službách (1937)
- Ferda v mraveništi ("Ferda in the Anthill") (1938)
- Ferdův slabikář ("Ferdas Primer") (1939)
- Trampoty brouka Pytlíka ("Troubles of Pouch the Beetle") (1939)
- Malířské kousky brouka Pytlíka (1940)
- Kuře Napipi a jeho přátelé ("The Chicken Napipi and its Friends")(1941)
- Uprchlík na ptačím stromě (1943) (awarded at the Expo 58 in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) - Ferda cvičí mraveniště (1947)
- Kronika města Kocourkova ("The Chronicles of the Town of Kocourkov") (1947)
- Jak se uhlí pohněvalo (1949)
- Pohádka o stromech a větru (Fairy Tale about the Trees and Wind") (1949)
- O zlém brouku Bramborouku (1950)
- Ferda Mravenec ničí škůdce přírody (1951)
- Malované počasí (Painted Weather") (1951)
- O traktoru, který se splašil (1951)
- Mravenci se nedají (1954)
- Na dvoře si děti hrály (1955)
- Čmelák Aninka ("Aninka the Bumblebee") (1959)
- Hurá za Zdendou (1960)
- O psu vzduchoplavci (1961)
- Pošta v ZOO ("Post in ZOO") (1963)
The first three books about Ferda Mravenec (Ferda the Ant) were published in 1960s under the title Knížka Ferdy Mravence (The Book of Ferda the Ant).
Both books of Brouk Pytlík ("Pouch the Beetle") were published since 1969 under the title Brouk Pytlík.
Comics
- Voříškova dobrodružství (1926)
- Jak Cvoček honil pytláka (1932)
- Kapitán Animuk loví v Africe (1934)
- Hej a Rup (1935)
- Slavnost u broučků (1938)
- Kousky mládence Ferdy Mravence (1950)
- Nápady kuřete Napipi (1961)
- Kapitán Animuk opět loví v Africe (1972)
Book illustration
- Jindřich PlachtaJindřich PlachtaJindřich Plachta, born Jindřich Šolle was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1951.-Selected filmography:* The Lovers of an Old Criminal * Father Vojtech...
: Pučálkovic Amina (1931) - Vladislav VančuraVladislav VancuraVladislav Vančura was one of the most important Bohemian writers of the 20th century...
: Kubula a Kuba Kubikula (1931) - Hugo Vavris: František Lelíček ve službách Sherlocka Holmese (1932)
- František LangerFrantišek LangerFrantišek Langer , was a Czech playwright, military physician, script writer, essayist, literary critic and publicist. He was born and died in Prague.- Life :...
: Bratrstvo bílého klíče (1934) - Jiří Weiss: O věrné Hadimršce … a co se kolem ní sběhlo (1935) published by MelantrichMelantrichMelantrich was a large Czech language publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999....
- Arthur RansomeArthur RansomeArthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
: Zamrzlá loď kapitána Flinta (1937) - Josef KoptaJosef KoptaJosef Kopta was a Czech writer and journalist.Before World War I Kopta worked as a bank clerk. In 1914 he was sent to the Eastern front, in 1915 taken prisoner and later joined Czechoslovak Legions in Russia.After the war he worked as a journalist in newspapers Národního osvobození and Lidové noviny...
: Smějte se s bláznem (1939) - Jarmila Hašková: Z notesu svatého Petra (1940)
- Jan KarafiátJan KarafiátJan Karafiát was a Czech clergyman of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren and author. He is best known for his classic children's book Broučci, the Czech language word for beetle, that was first published in the early 1870s...
: Broučci (1940) - Josef Věromír Pleva: Malý Bobeš (1941)
- Ema Tintěrová: Veselé příhody kozy Lujzy a kocoura Bobka (1942),
- Jan Malík: Míček Flíček (1946),
- Mikhail ZoshchenkoMikhail Zoshchenko-Biography:Zoshchenko was born in 1895, in Poltava, but spent most of his life in St. Petersburg / Leningrad. His Ukrainian father was a mosaicist responsible for the exterior decoration of the Suvorov Museum in Saint Petersburg. The future writer attended the Faculty of Law at the Saint Petersburg...
: Psí čich (1946), - Eduard ŠtorchEduard ŠtorchEduard Štorch was a Czech pedagogue, archaeologist and writer, known for novels set in prehistoric Bohemia during Stone and Bronze Age....
: Lovci mamutů na Bílé skále (1946) - Václav ČtvrtekVáclav ČtvrtekVáclav Cafourek , commonly known under his pen name of Václav Čtvrtek was a Czech poet and author. His most famous works include Křemílek and Vochomůrka, Rumcajs, Manka and Cipísek and Víla Amálka...
: Lev utekl (1948) - František Němec: Soudničky (1948)
- Ema Řezáčová: Dům na kolečkách (1948)
- Václav Lacina: Slyš a piš ("Listen and Write") (1949)
- Jarmila Minaříková: Ježourek a Pišta, jeho bratr (1949)
- Irina Karnauchová: Chytrý sedláček a jiné pohádky ("Clever Peasant and Other Fairytales")(1954)
- Gianni RodariGianni RodariGianni Rodari was an Italian writer and journalist, most famous for his books for children. He won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1970 and is considered by many to be Italy's most important twentieth-century children's author...
: O statečném Cibulkovi ("The Adventures of the Little Onion") (1955) - Jan Hostáň: Švitořilky (1961)