Ladislav Grosman
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Ladislav Grosman (4 February 1921 in
Humenné Humenné (; ; ) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha Rivers. Na ...
– 25 January 1981 in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
) was a Slovak novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for being the author of '' The Shop on Main Street'' (''Obchod na korze''), which he adapted into a critically acclaimed Academy Award-winning film in 1965. Grosman became proficient in
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 ...
after he moved to Czechoslovakia's Czech-speaking part in his late twenties, where he worked as a correspondent and editor in the
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
bureau of the Slovak newspaper ''Pravda''. Following the
Warsaw Pact 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 1968, he moved to Israel, where he died in 1981.


Biography

Grosman was born to a Slovak Jewish family, the son of a tanner and owner of a small shop selling leather and belts. His parents and three of his five siblings were killed during a German bombing of
Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...
in 1944. He attended the gymnasium in
Michalovce Michalovce (; , , Romani language, Romani: ''Mihalya'', Yiddish language, Yiddish: מיכאלאָווצע ''Mikhaylovets'' or ''Mykhaylovyts''; ) is a town on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia. Originally named after the Archangel St Michael ...
from 1932-1939, but only graduated in 1945, after the end of
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 ...
. After the establishment of the
Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...
he worked as a worker in a brick factory in Humenné, and was forced into military service without weapons (on racial grounds), and was eventually deported to a forced labor camp in
Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...
. He worked as a digger, a laborer in a brick factory and in the tobacco fields, until the
Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...
, when he went into hiding. Grosman returned to the liberated Humenné in March, 1945, but moved to
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
in September of that year. Graduating with an
Engineer's degree An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering which is conferred in Europe, some countries of Asia and Latin America, North Africa and a few institutions in the United States. The degree may require a thesis but always require ...
from the Political and Social University in 1949, he subsequently found employment for three years as a book reviewer in the Slovak publishing house ''Pravda''. He was a long term friend of writers
Arnošt Lustig Arnošt Lustig (; 21 December 1926 – 26 February 2011) was a renowned Czech Jewish author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays whose works have often involved the Holocaust. Life and work Lustig was born in Prague. As a Jewish bo ...
and Gabriel Laub. From 1953 to 1959 he worked as an editor in the publishing house ''Slovenská kniha'' (Slovak Book) and simultaneously he studied
educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...
at the Pedagogical University. He earned his PhD at
Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
in Prague. Initially, he wrote in Slovak, but in the mid-1950s he switched to
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 ...
. From 1960 to 1963 he was an editor in the Association of Czechoslovak Publishing Houses, and worked at the
Barrandov Film Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Barrandov has made several major Hollywood productions, including '' Mission Impossible'', '' T ...
from 1965 until 1968, when he emigrated with his family to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and settled in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
in the September. From January 1969 until his death he worked as a lecturer in
Slavic literature Slavic literature or Slavonic literature refers to the literature in any of the Slavic languages: *Belarusian literature *Bosnian literature *Bulgarian literature *Croatian literature *Czech literature *Kashubian literature *Macedonian literature * ...
and taught
creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...
. He became a full professor at
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
near Tel Aviv in 1975, and taught screenwriting at the
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
from 1979.


Personal life

Grosman died in 1981 in Kiryat-Ono, Israel where he lived since the late 1960s. He was survived by his wife, Edith, and son, jazz guitarist Jiří "George" Grosman. A memorial plaque bearing his name was unveiled in Humenné in 2010.


''The Shop on Main Street''

Grosman published the short story "The Trap" ("Past"), a precursor to the screenplay of ''Obchod na korze'' that contained three themes that made it into the final film, in Czech in 1962. He reworked and expanded this story, still in Czech, as a literary-narrative screenplay that was published in 1964 under the title "The Shop on Main Street" (''Obchod na korze''). This version contained what would become the film's storyline, but it was not in a typical (American) screenplay format.English translation by Iris Urwin: Ladislav Grosman, ''The Shop on Main Street.'' Garden City, 1970. Grosman reworked it into a shooting script with Slovak dialogue in cooperation with the film's designated directors,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. The film, which looks at Jewish life and
Aryanization Aryanization () was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis powers, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It enta ...
in Slovakia during World War II, was critically acclaimed, winning the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
at the
38th Academy Awards The 38th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1965, were held on April 18, 1966, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope, and were the first Oscars to be broadcast live in colo ...
. Author
Ewa Mazierska Ewa Mazierska (born 1964 in Włocławek, Poland) is a reader in Contemporary Cinema, in the Department of Humanities of the University of Central Lancashire. Her publications include various articles in Polish and English and a number of monogra ...
compares his work to
Bohumil Hrabal Bohumil Hrabal (; 28 March 1914 – 3 February 1997) was a Czech Republic, Czech writer, often named among the best Czech writers of the 20th century. Early life Hrabal was born in Židenice (suburb of Brno) on 28 March 1914, in what was then ...
in that his literary works typically contained the perfect mixture of comedy and tragedy.


Selected works

* ''The Shop on Main Street'' (1965), English edition Karolinum Press 2019. . * ''The Bride'' (1969) * ''Uncle David's Date'' (1969) * ''To Fly with Broken Wings'' (1976) * ''The Devil's Own Luck''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Ladislav Czechoslovak writers Slovak screenwriters Slovak male screenwriters 1921 births 1981 deaths People from Humenné Slovak novelists Slovak expatriates in Israel Slovak Jews Jewish Czech writers 20th-century Slovak writers Czechoslovak emigrants to Israel 20th-century screenwriters