Short footage from the funeral of entrepreneur and head of the footwear imperium Tomáš Baťa and pilot Jindřich Brouček, who tragically died in a plane crash on 12 July 1932. On 14 July, crowds of people gather in the courtyard of the Zlín factory and look on as the plane in which Tomáš Bat´a and his pilot crashed passes by. This is followed by a speech by Jan Antonín Baťa delivered on 12 July 1933, on the first anniversary of his brother´s tragic death (original sound).
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 Československý filmový týdeník (Czechoslovak Newsreel) 1934 No. 3 captures the funeral of thirteen victims of the Nelson mine disaster in Osek u Duchcova on 8 January 1934. The explosion at the Nelson III coalmine in the town of Osek in North Bohemia occurred on 3 January 1934. The explosion affected the entire mine and destroyed the adjacent operational buildings. 144 people lost their lives in the explosion. The segment captures the final farewell with the first 13 miners, which took place in the Cistercian Monastery in Osek and was attended by 50,000 people. Images of the crowd of the bereaved by the coffins. After the funeral ceremonies, the funeral procession makes its way through the streets of the town. In the early evening, the coffins with the victims´ remains are interred in graves at the Osek cemetery.
Segment from the weekly Deglův žurnál (Degl´s Journal) 1929 No. 38 captures the funeral of Antonín Selnar, Jaroslav Böll and Jaroslav Pekárek, airmen of the 1st Regiment of T. G. Masaryk, who died a tragic death during a military exercise near Přední Chlum on 5 September 1929. The funeral ceremony was held on Charles Square in Prague on 10 September 1929. The coffins with the deceased are carried out of the building of the General Hospital and transported on aircraft fuselages along Ječná Street towards I. P. Pavlov Square. The segment includes bird´s-eye views of the crowded streets of Prague.
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.