A special edition of the Elektajournal from 1933 dedicated to the fifteenth anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic. The introduction consists of a short retrospective composed of archival materials obtained in the streets of Prague on 28 October 1918. Footage of the parade on Wenceslaus Square on 28 October 1933. Raising the Czechoslovak flag in front of the Municipal House on Republic Square. Philips Radio vehicle with loudspeakers on the roof. Philips microphone. President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Minister of National Defence Bohumír Bradáč during a military parade on Wenceslaus Square. The ceremonial parade heads down 28 October Street and National Avenue to Smetana Embankment. MPs František Soukup, František Staněk and Prime Minister Jan Malypetr watch the ceremony from a grandstand by the Rudolfinum. Shots of a Czechoslovak Army military parade; the parade consists of infantry, soldiers with bicycles, horse-drawn cannons and armoured cars. Flyover by military aircraft. Parade of scouts in front of President Masaryk in the third courtyard of Prague Castle.
The segment from a Degl film production company newsreel captures the 50th anniversary celebrations of laying of the cornerstone of the National Theatre. The celebrations took place on 16-18 May 1918 in Prague, with the participation of representatives of all Slavic nations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The first shots show the festively decorated building of the National Theatre. In the next part, the camera observes the events taking place in the upper part of Wenceslas Square. The staircase and the ramp of the National Museum, where the opening ceremony took place (specifically in its Pantheon), are filled with young people in national folk costumes. Shots of the crowded square. Cultural and political figures, such as poets Adolf Heyduk and Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, writer Alois Jirásek and the head of the National Theatre Opera Karel Kovařovic, are leaving the building of the National Museum. This is followed by the symbolic ceremonial removal of politician Karel Kramář from the building. Afterwards, the Slovenian writer and mayor of Ljubljana Ivan Tavčar is seen leaving the building, as well as Czech actors Eduard Vojan, Marie Hübnerová, Leopolda Dostalová, Marie Laudová-Hořicová, Karel Želenský, writers Ignát Herrmann, František Herites and Jan Herben with his wife Bronislava, poet Bohdan Kaminský, politicians Alois Rašín, František Soukup, Gustav Habrman, Václav Klofáč and other notable national figures.
The segment captures the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic held in Prague on 28 October 1923. Festivities by the Statue of St Wenceslaus on Wenceslaus Square. Karel Kramář stands at the rostrum. Crowds gathered on the square wave their hats.
Segment from Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) issue no. 38A from 1943 contains footage from the Days of Czech Youth event organised by the Board of Trustees for the Education of Youth from 11 to 12 September. A concert of three brass bands, led by Miloš Kuba, and the Kühn Children´s Choir was held on Peace Square at 5 pm on 11 September. A procession of the Board´s members set out from Peace Square and continued through the streets of Prague. The event culminated with a track and field championship at Strahov Stadium where the winners of district rounds competed against each other. The spectators were welcomed by General Secretary of the Board František Teuner. The programme included a dance performance by girls in folk costumes. The event concluded with a speech by Minister of Education and People´s Enlightenment and Chairman of the Board Emanuel Moravec, followed by a solemn oath "to the Führer and to the Fatherland".
Segment of the Československý filmový týdeník (Czechoslovak Newsreel) 1935 No. 24 captures the funeral of composer Josef Suk held in Prague on 3 June 1935. The footage opens with a photo of a bier with the coffin. The coffin with the deceased is carried out of the National Museum and transported at the front of the funeral procession across Wenceslaus Square, past the National Theatre, across Palacký Square and past Emmaus Monastery. The procession ends in front of the building of the Vyšehrad Town Hall, from where the remains were taken to Suk´s final resting place in his native Křečovice (not seen in the segment).
The segment captures the funeral of the Zborov hero, General Stanislav Čeček, held in Prague on 5 June 1930. The coffin with the deceased is transported from the Pantheon of the National Museum to the National Liberation Monument in Žižkov. The funeral procession includes not only representatives of the Czechoslovak Legions but also Prime Minister František Udržal and Minister of Supplies Rudolf Bechyně. General Rudolf Medek delivers a speech over the the late hero´s coffin (silent).
A segment from the weekly Fox Movietone News 1937 captures the funeral of Renata Tyršová, Sokol founder Jindřich Fügner´s daughter and Miroslav Tyrš´s wife held in Prague on 26 February 1937. The funeral procession comprising masses of Sokol officials comes out of the historic Sokol building in Sokolská Street and continues across Wenceslaus Square. Minister of Industry Josef Václav Najman, Senator of the National Assembly František Soukup, Minister of National Defence František Machník and Minister of Social Welfare Jaromír Nečas walk behind the coffin.
The segment captures the state funeral of Minister of Finance Alois Rašín held in Prague on 21 February 1923. The shots of the preparations in front of the National Museum in the beginning of the segment are followed by views of the block of flats in Žitná Street in Prague´s New Town, where Rašín was assassinated on 5 January 1923. The funeral procession assembles in front of the National Museum. Funeral wreaths are carried out from the Pantheon. The coffin is loaded onto a horse-drawn hearse. The funeral procession moves across Wenceslaus Square, continues to Charles Square and Žitná Street towards the Olšany Cemetery crematorium. The streets are filled with on-lookers. The procession includes Sokols, representatives of the chimney sweep guild, scouts, Czechoslovak generals and soldiers. Minister of National Defence František Udržal, Deputy of the National Assembly František Tomášek, Minister of Foreign Affairs Edvard Beneš, Minister of Postal and Telegraph Services Alois Tučný, Minister of Social Welfare Gustav Habrman, Minister of Supplies Emil Franke, Minister of Agriculture Milan Hodža, and Deputy of the National Assembly Mořic Hruban.
A segment from the funeral of poet Adolf Heyduk begins with archival footage of the town of Písek, where Heyduk lived and worked for more than 20 years until his death on 6 February 1923. The genre images depict the Otava River, the Wenceslaus suburb, the Great Square, Charles Street, the bustle at the riverside Military Swimming Pool, Aleš Square with a credit union building, the dean´s church at Bakaláře, and the remains of the town walls by the Putim Gate. Adolf Heyduk walks with friends by the Schrenek Pavillion in Palacký Park. A portrait of Adolf Heyduk painted by Jan Skalický. The first part of the final farewell takes place in Písek on 8 February 1923. The funeral procession sets out from the town hall on Great Square towards the railway station, from where the remains of the late poet will be transported to Prague. This is followed by images from the funeral ceremony held in Prague on 10 February. The funeral procession moves across Wenceslaus Square towards Heyduk´s final resting place in Vyšehrad Cemetery.
The segment captures the funeral of Minister of Social Welfare Josef Gruber held in Prague on 7 May 1925. The flag of mourning is raised above the National Museum. The coffin with the late minister is carried out of the Pantheon of the National Museum. The funeral procession is led by university and church dignitaries. The procession continues across Wenceslaus Square to Charles Square, passing the building of the General Teaching Hospital on Vyšehradská Street. The segment ends with an image of Vyšehrad Cemetery and funeral wreaths by the cemetery arcades.
The segment captures the funeral of writer Alois Jirásek held in Prague on 16 March 1930. Crowds stream to the Pantheon of the National Museum, where the coffin containing the late writer´s remains is displayed. A car carrying President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk arrives at the National Museum. In the upper part of Wenceslaus Square, a monumental cenotaph is erected and passed by a number of commemorative processions, Sokols, soldiers, legionnaires, and members of political parties and various associations. Officials of the Czechoslovak Sokol Society carry the coffin with the deceased from the Pantheon of the National Museum. University dignitaries and distinguished Czech writers walk behind the coffin. The event is also attended by the guard of honour of the Vysoké Mýto 30th Infantry Regiment of Alois Jirásek. Prominent politicians present at the ceremony. The segment concludes with a view of the urn containing the writer´s remains in a car heading to the late writer´s final resting place in his native Hronov.
Segment from Československý zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1942, issue no. 28, depicts a public manifestation held on Wenceslas Square in Prague on 3 July 1942, which was to unequivocally condemn the assassination of Acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich. The gathering was attended by 200,000 people. Wenceslas Square is decorated with Protectorate and Nazi flags. Footage of the crowded square and onlookers in the windows and on the roofs of surrounding houses. State President Emil Hácha, Prime Minister of the Protectorate Government Jaroslav Krejčí, Minister of the Interior Rudolf Bienert, and Minister of Education and People´s Enlightenment Emanuel Moravec stand on a grandstand. Krejčí and Moravec deliver speeches on cancelling the state of emergency and the need for active collaboration with the Reich. The manifestation concludes with the Czech anthem and people performing the Nazi salute, among them Minister of Finance Josef Kalfus, Minister of the Interior Rudolf Bienert, Prime Minister Jaroslav Krejčí, and Minister of Transport Jindřich Kamenický.
Segment from Czechoslovak Aktualita Sound Newsreel 1942, issue no. 24, captures the memorial ceremony for Acting Reich Protector Heydrich held in Prague on 7Ï8 June. The camera follows a night-time funeral procession across Charles Bridge. SS officers carry the coffin draped in the Nazi flag. The procession is illuminated with burning torches. The following footage shows a bier with Heydrich´s coffin in the first quadrangle of Prague Castle. The surroundings are decorated with eternal flames, Nazi flags and SS flags. A view of Heydrich´s military decorations and the guard of honour, made up of SS soldiers. The ceremony at Prague Castle continues with a speech by the newly appointed Acting Reich Protector Daluege (silent). The event is attended by Reichsführer of the SS Himmler, State President Hácha, and members of the Protectorate Government. The funeral procession with the coffin, organised as a military parade, moves along Mostecká Street in Prague´s Lesser Town. The procession includes members of the Protectorate Government and continues across Charles Bridge, along Smetana Quay, National Avenue, and through the Wenceslas Square towards Prague Main Railway Station, where the coffin is loaded onto a train. The segment concludes with the train departing for Berlin.
Unedited film footage captures events taking place in the streets of Prague in October 1918 during the first weeks of Czechoslovakia´s independence. A public manifestation takes place in front of the building of the Czech Escompt Bank (Böhmische Escompte-Bank). A demonstration of Czech soldiers, dressed in the uniforms of the Austro-Hungarian army, is held on Old Town Square. Prime Minister Karel Kramář gets out of an arriving car. The gathering is attended by politicians Václav Klofáč and František Udržal. Gustav Habrman and Josef Scheiner speak by the Jan Hus Memorial. A shot of Karel Kramář, Gustav Habrman and Václav Klofáč in a train window at the Main Railway Station after their return from negotiations in Geneva on 4 November 1918. Czechoslovak soldiers in Austro-Hungarian uniforms march in a parade through Wenceslaus Square, which is decorated with Czech flags and the flags of the victorious states. A shot of a railway carriage with patriotic signs. A postcard with anti-Austrian caricatures. People in the parade carry the remnants of the Austrian coat of arms. Footage of the arrival of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in Prague on 21 December. The train pulls into the Main Railway Station. President Masaryk, accompanied by František Tomášek, departs in an open car and then transfers to a carriage on Old Town Square.
Unedited film footage taken in Prague in 1918 during the first months of Czechoslovakia´s independence. Soldiers march across Svatopluk Čech Bridge. A festive parade on Old Town Square. Crowds cheering at the Main Railway Station. A gathering by the statue of St Wenceslaus in the upper part of Wenceslaus Square is attended by Dr. Josef Scheiner. A military oath ceremony of officers and a military parade on Old Town Square on 8 November. Josef Svatopluk Machar in front of the building of the Provincial War Office in Sněmovní Street in Lesser Town. The event is attended by politicians František Staněk, Václav Klofáč and Karel Kramář, who returned from Geneva on 4 November. Karel Kramář and Gustav Habrmann, followed by Václav Klofáč and František Staněk, speak from a train window. Footage from the arrival of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk at the Main Railway Station. General Otakar Husák is also present. Distribution of weapons to members of the new military forces at the Military Headquarters on Slavonic Island. A military oath attended by František Staněk and Antonín Kalina. The return of soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army. Large parades along Wenceslaus Square and Old Town Square.
Segment from Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) issue no. 29A from 1944 was shot during the Week of Czech Youth event organised by the Board of Trustees for the Education of Youth and held from 1 to 9 July. The programme included a concert held on Old Town Square on 8 July. The orchestra and choir consisted of several hundred young musicians and singers. Minister of Education and People´s Enlightenment and Chairman of the Board Emanuel Moravec and Deputy Mayor Joseph Pfitzner watched the event from the balcony of the Old Town Hall. The Board of Trustees´ youth set out from the square in a parade through the streets of Prague. The following day, a sports afternoon took place at Strahov Stadium. Guests of honour included Prime Minister Jaroslav Krejčí and the General Secretary of the Board František Teuner. Emanuel Moravec spoke to the participants. The programme included women´s floor exercises, track and field races and women in stylised costumes dancing to folk songs. The event was concluded with the athletes and audience paying homage to Adolf Hitler.