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.
Segment from UFA Praha 1941 no. 2 depicts the enormous funeral of pro-German journalist Karel Lažnovský held in the Small Hall of the Crematorium of the City of Prague in Vinohrady on 16 October 1941. Lažnovský died on 10 October 1941 when he succumbed to poisoning after eating open sandwiches at a reception at the home of Prime Minister Alois Eliáš; the incident became known as the "open sandwich affair". His death was labelled a political murder by Nazi propaganda. Karl von Gregory, head of the Cultural and Political Department of the Reich Governor's Office, members of the Protectorate Government, and representatives of the Government Army and all Protectorate authorities are present among the mourners. Acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich places a funeral wreath by the coffin. The funeral oration is delivered by Minister of Education and People´s Enlightenment Emanuel Moravec.
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) 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.
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 of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1939 No. 20 captures the solemn event of the interment of the remains of poet Karel Hynek Mácha at Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague on 7 May 1939. Mourners walk past the coffin with the poet´s remains in the Pantheon of the National Museum. The large funeral procession starts on Wenceslaus Square and continues along National Street, Masaryk Embankment and narrow alleys to Vyšehrad. The streets are lined with crowds of people. The film footage is accompanied by the recitation of the fourth canto of the poem May delivered by Václav Vydra Jr., an actor of the National Theatre. This is followed by images from the solemn ceremony in the Slavín Tomb at Vyšehrad Cemetery. The coffin with the poet´s remains is lowered into the grave. Rudolf Medek bids farewell to Mácha on the behalf of Czech writers. Actor Eduard Kohout recites 7 May 1939, a poem by Josef Hora. People walk past the grave, placing flowers on it, some crossing themselves. The mourners include composer Vítězslav Novák, painter Max Švabinský, Minister of Education and National Enlightenment Jan Kapras and the Mayor of Prague Otakar Klapka.
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.