Jan Drda (April 4, 1915,

Příbram Příbram (; german: Freiberg in Böhmen, ''Przibram'', or ''Pribram'', in 1939–1945 ''Pibrans'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. It is well known for its mining history, and more ...

– November 28, 1970, Dobříš) was a Czech

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, playwright,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and author of modern

fairytales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cu ...

. He was the Czech State Prize Laureate in 1949 and 1953, and was a nominated again for the same prize in 1965.

Life

Jan Drda was born April 4, 1915 in

and was the son of a laborer and

organizational founder An organizational founder is a person who has undertaken some or all of the formational work needed to create a new organization, whether it is a business, a charitable organization, a governing body, a school, a group of entertainers, or any oth ...

. His parents divorced and his father became an alcoholic and abandoned his children. In 1921, Drda's mother died during the birth of his second sibling. Drda and his sister, Marie, were educated by their grandfather. In 1934, Drda graduated from

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...

in Prague with a degree in philosophy. From a young age, Drda wrote stories and dramatic plays for , and he began contributing to newspapers and magazines from 1932. Between 1937 and 1942, Drda was the editor of ''

Lidové noviny ''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record.Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and supported the blacklisting of some writers who were against Communism. He became a member of the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed be ...

in 1945. After February 1948, he held various cultural and political offices, was part of several foreign delegations, including to South America, and was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, representing the

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

district, where he remained a member until 1960. In 1955, he received the Order of the Republic. From 1949 to 1956, he was Chairman of the communist-controlled Union of Czechoslovak Writers. Jan Drda and , known by the derisive nickname "Drzáč", were against Catholic authors, such as Jakub Deml, Jan Zahradníček, Václav Renč and

Bohuslav Reynek Bohuslav Reynek (31 May 1892 in Petrkov (part of Lípa) – 28 October 1971 in Petrkov) was a Czech poet, writer, painter and translator. Education and personal life From 1904 to 1911 Reynek studied at Grammar School in Jihlava, Bohemia where h ...

. Drda contributed to many Czechoslovak films, as both a screenwriter and story author. He is credited as a writer on more than 20 films. His screenplay for the 1960 film '' Higher Principle'' ( cs, Vyšší princip), based on one of his short stories in ''Silent Barricade'' ( cs, link=no, Němá barikáda), was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize by the

International Federation of Film Critics The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

at the

Locarno Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

in Switzerland. In the final years of his life, Drda was the editor-in-chief of ''Svět práce'' ( en, The World of Work), which he founded in 1968. Drda fell out of favour after condemning the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

and the subsequent occupation, and was expelled from the Communist Party. He died on November 28, 1970 in Dobříš and was buried at a local cemetery. His funeral was attended by about two thousand people.

Works

Prose

* ''Městečko na dlani'' (1940) – depicting the life of people from a small city named Rukapáň (based on the author's home city of Příbram), shortly before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. * ''Živá voda'' (1942) – a novel about the life of a rural boy, set in the post-war years. * ''Putování Petra Sedmilháře'' (1943) – a novel about an orphan searching for his unknown father. * ''Svět viděný zpomaloučka'' (1943) – book edition of the committee from his work for ''Lidové noviny''. * ''Listy z Norimberka'' (1946) – a collection of

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticis ...

s about the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded ...

. * ' ( cs, Němá barikáda, 1946) – 14 short stories about Second World War (including

Prague uprising The Prague uprising ( cs, Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of oc ...

and Liberation), first prose account of the Second World War in literature. * ''Kuřák dýmky'' (1948) * ''Krásná Tortiz'' (1952) – a collection of short stories, winner of the state prize for 1953. * ''Dětství soudruha Stalina'' (1953) – a biographical account of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's life until the age of 16. * ''Jednou v Máji'' (1958) – a youth novel about the defence of the Troja Bridge during the May Uprising. * ' (1959) – 12 folk tales with illustrations by

Josef Lada Josef Lada (born 17 December 1887 in Hrusice, Bohemia – 14 December 1957 in Prague, buried at Olšany Cemetery) was a Czech painter, illustrator and writer. He is best known as the illustrator of Jaroslav Hašek's World War I novel '' The ...

* ''Posvícení v Tramtárii'' (1972) – three fairy tales, published posthumously as Drda's last work. * ''České lidové hádanky v podání Jana Drdy: pro čtenáře od 6 let'' (1984) * ''Nedaleko Rukapáně'' (1989) – a collection of the author's short stories, published posthumously. * ''Milostenky nemilostivé'' (1995) – a collection of essays written between 1939 and 1940.

Drama

* ''Magdalenka'' (1941) – a one-act comedy * ''Jakož i my odpouštíme'' (1941) – a play about three talks * ''Romance o Oldřichu a Boženě'' (1953) – a comic love story of two mechanical harvesters, Oldřich and Božena. * ''Hrátky s čertem'' (''

Playing with the Devil ''Playing with the Devil'' ( cs, Hrátky s čertem) is a 1956 Czech fairy-tale comedy film by Josef Mach based on a 1945 play by Jan Drda. Set decorations were painted by Josef Lada. Cast *Josef Bek as Martin Kabát * Eva Klepáčová as Maid Ká ...

'', 1946) – a fairy-tale comedy, adapted into a 1956 film directed by

Josef Mach Josef Mach (25 February 1909, in Prostějov – 7 July 1987, in Prague) was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director. Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant ...

starring Josef Bek, with animated decorations by

. In 1979, another adaptation of the film was made in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, directed by

Tadeusz Lis ''Tadeusz'' is a Polish first name, derived from Thaddaeus. Tadeusz may refer to: * Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895–1966), Polish military leader * Tadeusz Borowski (1922–1951), Polish writer and The Holocaust survivor * Tadeusz Boy-Żeleńsk ...

. * ' (1960) – a comedy about eight pictures, adapted into a television film in 1976 by . * ''Jsou živí, zpívají'' (1961) – a play about the

Scripts and story-writing for film

* ''Druhá směna'' (1940) – story * ''Městečko na dlani'' (1942) – story, filmed in

Ronov nad Doubravou Ronov nad Doubravou is a town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,800 inhabitants. Administrative parts The villages of Mladotice and Moravany are administrative parts of Ronov nad Doubravou. Geograph ...

* '' Děvčica z Beskyd'' (1944) – script * ''Znamení kotvy'' (1947) – story and script, a psychological romance * '' Silent Barricade'' ( cs, Němá barikáda, 1949) – story and script; a

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that wa ...

directed by

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was born in Hradec Králové, Austria-Hungary, now part of the Czech Republic. Biography and career Vávra attended universities ...

, about the battle for Prague at the end of World War II. Drda was awarded the 1949 state prize for the story. * ''

'' ( cs, link=no, Hrátky s čertem, 1956) – story and script * ''

Dařbuján a Pandrhola ''Dařbuján a Pandrhola'' is a 1960 Czech Fairy tale directed by Martin Frič. Cast * Jiří Sovák as Kuba Darbuján * Rudolf Hrušínský Rudolf Hrušínský (17 October 1920 – 13 April 1994) was a Czech actor. He was one of the mos ...

'' (1959) – story and script; 1960 fantasy film directed by

Martin Frič Martin Frič (29 March 1902 – 26 August 1968) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He had more than 100 directing credits between 1929 and 1968, including feature films, shorts and documentary films. Throughout his life, Fr ...

*'' Higher Principle'' ( cs, link=no, Vyšší princip, 1960) – story and script; drama film based on the eponymous

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

from his book ''Silent Barricade'' ( cs, link=no, Němá barikáda) written in 1946. Set during the Nazi occupation, the story details the relationship between a group of students and their elderly Latin teacher. * ''Golden Fern'' ( cs, link=no, Zlaté kapradí, 1963) – story, this fairy tale focuses on the themes of love, loyalty and betrayal. * ''

Princess Jasnenka and the Flying Shoemaker ''Princess Jasnenka and the Flying Shoemaker'' ( cs, O princezně Jasněnce a létajícím ševci) is a 1987 Czechoslovak fantasy film directed by Zdeněk Troška and starring Michaela Kuklová and Jan Potměšil. It is based on a fairy tale by C ...

'' ( cs, link=no, O princezně Jasněnce a létajícím ševci, 1987) – story; a fantasy film directed by Zdeněk Troška and starring Michaela Kuklová and Jan Potměšil, based on a fairy tale by Drda. The film was shot in castles in Bohemia and

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...

. The film was later screened at film festivals and is a staple of national broadcaster TV Nova. * ', 2008 – story

References