Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1942 No. 41 captures the funeral of Alexandr Commichau, head of the Reich Labour Service, held on 5 October 1942 in the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle, decorated with Nazi emblems for the occassion. The deceased´s military honours are on display next to a bier with the coffin. Mourners include the widow, a little girl and State Secretary Hermann Frank. Acting Reich Protector Kurt Daluege lays down a wreath from Adolf Hitler. The funeral speech is delivered by Deputy Chief General of RAD Wilhelm Decker (silent). The procession with the coffin, which will be transported to a crematorium in Prague, moves through the Matthias Gate.
The segment captures the funeral of Cardinal Karel Kašpar held in Prague on 24 April 1941. The footage begins with archival images of Karel Kašpar. This is followed by an image of the bier with a glass casket in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist in the Archbishop´s Palace. Close-ups of the late Cardinal´s face and his hands holding a rosary. Hans Hermann Völckers, the head of the Reich Protector´s office, attends the funeral ceremony on behalf of Reich Protector Konstantin von Neurath. President Emil Hácha and Prime Minister of the Protectorate Government Alois Eliáš are seen by the coffin. The funeral procession sets out from the Archbishop´s Palace, continues across Hradčany Square to the Gate of Giants and towards St. Vitus Cathedral. The procession includes the Reich Protector´s Envoy Hans Hermann Völckers talking to Alois Eliáš, members of the Protectorate Government, Apostolic Nuncio Cesare Orsenigo, Cardinal of Vienna Theodor Innitzer, clergy and members of religious orders.The funeral ceremony continues in St. Vitus Cathedral, where Cardinal of Vienna Theodor Innitzer celebrates the pontifical requiem. Prime Minister Alois Eliáš is among the people present.
Unused footage from segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1944 No. 17 captures the funeral of composer and folklorist Karel Weis on 11 April at Malvazinky Cemetery in Prague-Smíchov. The funeral ceremony is attended by a number of church dignitaries. The segment concludes with the interment of the coffin in a grave.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1941 No. 5A captures the funeral of inventor František Křižík held in Prague on 27 January 1941, which became a silent yet powerful expression of Czech resistance against German occupation. The coffin with the late inventor and funeral wreaths are carried out of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Vyšehrad. The solemn ceremony is concluded with the interment of the coffin in the national crypt at Slavín in Vyšehrad.
Segment of the Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1938 No. 3 captures the funeral of the Mayor of Prague Karel Baxa held in Prague on 8 January 1938. The coffin with the deceased, draped in the national flag, is carried out of the building of the Old Town Hall and transported in a black car for the service conducted at the Pantheon of the National Museum. This is followed by the funeral procession through Prague to the final resting place of Karel Baxa in the small hall of Strašnice Crematorium, whose construction was significantly facilitated by Karel Baxa. The segment concludes with an image of the exterior of the Strašnice Crematorium with eternal flames.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1945 No. 13 captures the funeral of diplomat František Chvalkovský, who died on 25 February 1945 when hit by a ground-attack aircraft on a motorway near Berlin. The lavish funeral attended by prominent figures of public life was held in Strašnice Crematorium in Prague on 13 March 1945. Prime Minister of the Protectorate Government Richard Bienert and Reich Chancellor Augustin Popelka place a wreath from President Emil Hácha by the coffin. Karl Hermann Frank lays down a wreath from Adolf Hitler. The solemn ceremony is attended by Minister of Justice Jaroslav Krejčí, Minister of Education and National Enlightenment Emanuel Moravec and Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court Josef Kliment. Funeral speeches are delivered by the parish priest of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, Bedřich Jerie, and Prime Minister of the Protectorate Government Richard Bienert. A guard of honour by the coffin comprises boys from the Board of Trustees for the Education of Youth in Bohemia and Moravia.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1939 No. 28B captures the funeral of opera singer Otakar Mařák held in Prague on 7 July 1939. The coffin with the late singer is carried out of the National Theater. The funeral procession sets out across Peace Square to Olšany Cemetery, where the coffin with the remains of the deceased is interred in a grave.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1941 No. 4B captures the funeral of painter Joža Úprka held in Kněždub on 14 January 1940. The segment opens with an archival close-up of Joža Úprka. The following image shows the late Joža Úprka displayed in an open casket surrounded by professional mourners and lit candles. Minister of Public Works Dominik Čipera and Provincial President Jaroslav Caha Syn talk with late Joža Úprka´s son, Jan. The final farewell begins in the courtyard of the family house. The funeral procession moves through the village. Úprka´s family walks behind the coffin. This is followed by a religious ceremony at the cemetery in Kněždub, attended by, among others, a number of German officers. The segment is concluded with the lowering of the coffin into the aritst´s grave.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1943 No. 23B captures the funeral of poet, playwright and writer František Xaver Svoboda held in Prague on 28 May 1943. Mourners come out of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Vyšehrad. Image of the inscription "Pax vobis" at Vyšehrad Cemetery. The funeral ceremony is attended by a number of church dignitaries. The coffin with the late poet´s remains is carried towards the Slavín Tomb, on the steps of which funeral speeches are delivered by literary critic Miloslav Hýsek and poet František Sekanina. Mourners include Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Adolf Hrubý. The segment is concludes with the interment of the coffin in the national crypt at Slavín, Vyšehrad.
Segment of the Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1938 No. 18 captures the funeral of politician, former Minister of National Defence and Prime Minister František Udržal held in his native village of Dolní Roveň u Pardubic on 28 April 1938. Images of the mournfully decorated family house. The funeral ceremony opens with speeches by Prime Minister Milan Hodža and Deputy of the National Assembly Rudolf Beran. The mourners include Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Jan Malypetr, Generals Jan Syrový and Ludvík Krejčí, entrepreneur Jan Antonín Baťa and Senator František Soukup. The coffin with the deceased, draped in the national flag, is carried onto a horse-drawn hearse. The funeral procession makes its way through the streets of the village to the local cemetery. A cushion with Udražal´s honours is carried behind the hearse. In addition to his relatives and state officials, the procession includes generals of the Czechoslovak Army, military attaches, Czechoslovak soldiers, church dignitaries and Sokols. Despite the inclement weather, the streets are lined with crowds of onlookers. At the cemetery, the coffin is lowered into a grave. A plane flies past the church tower. The segment closes with an image of Udržal´s family tomb.