The Czech Heritage Museum & Genealogy Center and the historic Beltonian Theatre will screen “Milada,” a 2017 film in English which tells the true story of Czech hero and democratic politician Milada Horakova (1901-1950). Milada Horakova was the only woman to be executed by the Communist regime for her political beliefs. Horakova is played by Ayelet Zurer, an Israeli actress of Slovakian descent who also starred in Steven Spielberg’s “Munich.”
The screening for "Milada" will begin at 7 p.m., Tuesday, August 14, 2018, at 219 E. Central Ave. Belton, Tx. Free admission. Rating: Adult for themes, violence and mature situations. For more information on the topic, please see related links below the story.
If there were such things as secular patron saints, Milada Horakova would surely qualify. The starting point for her canonization could be this information from Wikipedia:
“From 1927 to 1940 she was employed in the social welfare department of the Prague city authority. In addition to focusing on issues of social justice, Horáková also became a prominent campaigner for the equal status of women. She was also active in the Czechoslovak Red Cross.[3] In 1929 she joined the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party[4] which, despite the similarity in names, was a strong opponent of German National Socialism. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939, Horáková became active in the underground resistance movement, but, together with her husband, she was arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo in 1940. She was sent to the concentration camp at Terezín and then to various prisons in Germany. In the summer of 1944, Horáková appeared before a court in Dresden. Although the prosecution demanded the death penalty, she was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. She was released from detention in Bavaria in April 1945 by advancing United States forces in the closing stages of the Second World War.[5]
Scene from the movie "Milada"
““I have stated to the organs of state security that I remain, on principle, firm in my convictions, and that I remain so, because I have built these convictions on the opinions, points of view, speeches and information of people who I have respected. Among them I include our country’s two greatest figures, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš, both of whom were an inspiration to me throughout my life.” ”
Following the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, Horáková returned to Prague and joined the leadership of the re-constituted Czechoslovak National Socialist Party, becoming a member of the Provisional National Assembly. In 1946, she won a seat in the elected National Assembly representing the region of České Budějovice in southern Bohemia. Her political activities again focussed on the role of women in society and also on the preservation of Czechoslovakia’s democratic institutions. Shortly after the Communist coup in February 1948, she resigned in protest from the parliament. Unlike many of her political associates, Horáková chose not to leave Czechoslovakia for the West, and continued to be politically active in Prague. On 27 September 1949, she was arrested and accused of being the leader of an alleged plot to overthrow the Communist regime.”
The movie was written, directed and produced by David Mrnka, who has produced filming projects around the world for CNN, BBC, Larry King Live and others. Although the story is in the public domain and documentaries had been previously made, Mrnka sought the perspective of Horakova’s daughter, Jana Kanska, who lives in Washington D.C.
“I wanted personal information from the family and to have the blessing of her daughter,” Mrnka said. “So I stayed three days and she drilled me. Ultimately she said yes and we worked together on the movie.”
“He had so much information already, which he obtained from the archives and from all the historical documents, that I was absolutely sure he was the right person to make this very difficult film,” Kanska told Radio Prague. “So I faithfully waited until now, when the film became reality.” The film was 10 years in the making, but Mrnka shot it in 35 days in 2016.
“Milada” was a featured film for the “Czech That Film” festival held across the U.S. and Canada. It screened in April during the festival at Austin’s Violet Crown Cinema.
Click here to read Milada's last letter to her daughter. "I Will Always Be With You"
Interview with Milada's daughter http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/milada-horakovas-daughter-explains-role-in-new-feature-film-about-mother
Click here to read more when Milada's daughter, Jana Kansky, accepted the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom Award from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation for her mother.
https://youtu.be/Pl7zsrXRUP0 Czechoslovakia after WWI - Masaryk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spii_fjdgXs Milada’s daughter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ut-NJY2EVM Czech Ambassador to the U.S. resigns in protest of the rise of communism in the Czechoslovak government
https://youtu.be/DlB0Tsxf0iw During the same trials, Franiska Zeminova, aged 68, was sentenced to prison for 20 years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vMZrJhlpXc&t=11s Documentary in Czech, with an interview of Frantisek Preucil, who was sentenced to life imprisonment during the same trial. Visit this page to see more about Preucil, his anti-communist activities, escape to West Germany in the and report to the Voice of America of the cruelties and conditions behind the Iron Curtain.
Poster Series: iDnez - National Committee for a Free Europe
Trailer for movie https://youtu.be/NKbvYs_-Sto
Graffiti on wall in Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic, marking the 65th anniversary of the execution of Milada Horakova.