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.
Special issue of the Československý zvukový týdeník (Czechoslovak Sound Newsreel) No. 39 from 1937 captures the final farewell with the first Czechoslovak President T. G. Masaryk held in Prague on 21 September 1937. Shot of the mournfully decorated castle courtyard with the coffin draped in the national flag. President E. Beneš delivers a speech over the coffin (original sound). The grand funeral procession makes its way through Prague to Wilson Railway Station. It is led by the Inspector General of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces, General Jan Syrový, on horseback. The late president´s son Jan Masaryk, grandsons Leonard and Herbert Revilliod, E. Beneš and representatives of the Czechoslovak government walk behind the coffin. The funeral procession stops in front of the Wilson Railway Station. This is followed by a parade of troops in front of the coffin, attended by the family, diplomats, French Prime Minister Léon Blum and others. The coffin is then carried through the station building and loaded onto the platform of a special train dispatched to Lány. The train departs, mourners are along the track. The coffin is interred at the local cemetery in Lány.
Unedited film footage shot in the streets of Pardubice after an allied air raid on 22 July 1944. People are clearing the debris of buildings. Rescued pieces of furniture and other furnishings are loaded onto trucks. Two men carry a child´s coffin towards a hearse. A mass commemorative ceremony for the victims of the air raid is held on Pernštýn Square on 25 July. The bereaved gather by the displayed coffins at the site of the commemoration. Local official Adolf Želízko delivers a funeral speech.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1945 No.10 captures the mass funeral of the victims of the air strike carried out over Prague on 14 February 1945, which was held on Peace Square in Prague-Vinohrady on 18 February 1945 and attended by members of the Protectorate Government and Reich Chancellor Augustin Popelka. 150 coffins with the victims are on display in the Church of St. Ludmila. (The air strike killed 701, and more than 80 people were missing.) A guard of honour with torches consisted of officials of the Board of Trustees for the Education of Youth. The funeral gathering is opened by the Mayor of Prague Alois Říha, who bids farewell to the victims on behalf of the City of Prague. Prime Minister of the Protectorate Government Richard Bienert speaks on behalf of President Emil Hácha. Minister of Economy and Labour Walter Bertsch lays down a wreath from Reich Protector Wilhelm Frick. Prime Minister of the Protectorate Government Richard Bienert and Reich Chancellor Augustin Popelka lay down a wreath on behalf of the Protectorate Government and President Emil Hácha. The Mayor of Prague Alois Říha and his Secretary Josef Pfitzner arrive to lay a wreath on behalf of the City of Prague.
Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1940 No. 52 captures the funeral of violinist Jan Kubelík held at Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague on 10 December 1940. The coffin with the musician´s remains is carried out of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The funeral procession is led by the late conductor´s son Rafael Kubelík and other family members. The funeral is attended by Minister of Education and National Enlightenment Jan Kapras and Chairman of the National Society Josef Nebeský. The ceremony continues with funeral speeches in front of the Slavín Tomb. After the ceremony, the coffin is lowered into the Slavín Tomb.
Segment of the Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1939 No. 1 caputres the funeral of writer Karel Čapek at Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague on 29 December 1938. The coffin with the deceased is carried out of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul and across the cemetery to the grave. Theatre director Vojta Novák delivers a speech at the grave. The coffin is lowered into the grave. The mourners include Karel Čapek´s widow, actress and writer Olga Scheinpflugová, his brother-in law, journalist Karel Scheinpflug, writer Ferdinand Peroutka, Karel Čapek´s brother, painter and writer Josef Čapek, actor Hugo Haas, poet and theatre critic Hanuš Jelínek, poet Josef Hora, sociologist Miloslav Disman and others. The segment conludes with the Czech anthem.
The segment of Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) from late September 1938 captures the recording of a radio speech given by General Jan Syrový to accept his appointment to the office of Prime Minister on 22 September 1938, in which he responds to the national demonstration for the unity of Czechoslovakia held in front of the Parliament building in Prague. He urges the demonstrators, as well as all citizens, to remain calm and sensible and to return to work.
The segment of Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel), 1938, issue no. 28 reports on the visit of Giuseppe Dalla Torre, the editor-in-chief of the Vatican City State´s daily newspaper of L´Osservatorio Romano, to Czechoslovakia.
Actress Hana Vítová in an unidentified German film (sound). Vítová with actor Oldřich Nový in Valentin Dobrotivý (Valentin the Good, dir. Martin Frič, 1942). Vítová with her husband, critic Bedřich Rádl, in a segment from Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1942, issue no. 49.
Segment from Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1941, issue no. 45, captures Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the SS and Chief of the Gestapo, during a visit to Prague on 29 October 1941. A car enters the first quadrangle of Prague Castle. Heinrich Himmler and Acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich inspect a lined-up SS unit. Heinrich Himmler during a tour of Prague Castle. The official visit is attended by Reich Secretary Karl Hermann Frank.