10. - 12. The Theme of the Holocaust in Czech Literature
                                Lecturer: Petr Bubeníček


10) The Theme of the Holocaust in Czech Literature Lecture One

11) The Theme of the Holocaust in Czech Literature Lecture Two

12) The film: The Cremator  will be presented


The three lectures will deal with the theme of the Holocaust in Czech Literature, with special
emphasis on the so-called second wave of postwar Czech literature. Works by authors who themselves
fell victim to the Holocaust (e.g. Arnošt Lustig) as well as by writers who became acquainted with
it in a mediated way (e.g. Ladislav Fuks) will be included. On the basis of the interpretation of
two important works – The Cremator and A Prayer for Katerina Horowitzova – we will examine two
different ways in which writers cope with the inhumanity of their times and work with their
characters, exposing them to extreme situations marked by death or pain on the one hand, and by the
temptation to seize power on the other.


The course also deals with the relationships between literary and film works. One of the lectures
will be devoted to the projection of a film. The participants will trace such issues as film
adaptation methods, shifts of both meaning and style, differences in narrative techniques and
treatment of time, the esthetic structures of the literary text and film and the social function of
the work.


Recommended reading:

·        Fuks, Ladislav. The Cremator. Translated by Eva M. Kandler. London: Marion Boyars, 1984.

·        Lustig, Arnošt. A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzova. Translated by Jeanne W. Němcová. New
York: Harper & Row, 1973.