A Dangerous Neighbourhood:
German Cinema in the Czechoslovak
Region, 1933-45
Ivatl Klitnei
The democratic Republic of Czechoslovakia was created at the end ofthe FiISt
World War (1918), as one of the succession states of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire. The new state was politically and economically dominated by the
Czechs but had large German and Slovak ethnic mino ties as well as smaller
Hungadan, Ukralnian and Polish minodties. Centuies of sharing Central
European terdtory had created numerous economic, political and cultural
ties between the Bohemian Lands and the German Reich. Following the
creation of Czechoslovakia these ties intensified. This trend, which was
aheady noticeable under Austrian rule, manifested itself among other things
in the entertainment industry.
The Czechoslovak film market (1918-38) and its ties
with the German film industry
The German population of Czechoslovakia, the ,sudeten Germans,, were
to adapt most readily to the rapid industrialisation of cinema. This was
particularly true for the inhabitants of the industrial region of North
Bohemia, who had ties both to Vienna and to the great industdal centres
in Germany. Nevertheless, it was the tendency of the Czech population to
live in constant contact with German culture that, despite the rhetoric of
the Czech national movement, contributed to the establishment of German
cinema as the second-ranking national clnema on the Czechoslovak market
in the 1920s. Tensions between the Gennan minodty and the ruling ethnic
Czech majority rose repeatedly, manifesting, for instance, in the famous
Prague demonstrations where extremist groups protested against the presentation
of Gennan films.r Nonetheless, the viewing behaviour of the Czech
public indicates that even after the advent ol sound film the trend was in
quite the opposite direction. German films took second place in terms of
Iwn Kli!fiei 113
viewer preference, rankinS right after Czech films, not only with regard to
the number of films on the Czechoslovak market, but with respect to the
popularity of country of film origin as well.2
By the time Hitler came to power in Nazi Germany, early disputes associated
with the advent of sound had already taken shape, involving both
the reaction of the public and the patent issue, some even resulting in
lawsuits, Under the 'Paris Agreement'of 1930, Czechoslovakia was part of
the patent zone of Tobis-Klangfilm, a supra-national Sroup of companies.
After some initial disputes, Tobis-Klangfilm finally reached an agreement
with the professional organisations of the Czechoslovak film industry, Ied
by the Central Union of Cinematographers (lstie(t ( svaz kinematografirl,
settling for a flat licensing fee for patent infringing equipment.3 In 1933, the
Czechoslovak film industry was embroiled in another big issue - the introduction
of the quota system. tn 1932 - relatively late in comparison to other
European countdes - Czechoslovakia started protecting its domestic film
market by regulating film imports and supporting domestic film production.
Modelling its legistation after the British Cinematograph Films Act (1927),
the Czech Ministry of Industry, Trade and Crafts made the issue of import
licenses conditional to the production of domestic films. It also introduced
standards regulating the number of foreign films that could be imported to
Czechoslovakia in a given year (and hence, de focto, l.ow many domestic
films would be produced).r
The Mlnistry of Trade had already attempted earlier, in the late 1920s,
to introduce such a model to support domestic film. The proposed act got
bogged down during inter-ministerial negotiations about the model as a
whole, but one reason that the earlier attempt had failed was that the big
Amedcan companies had threatened a boycott of the Czechoslovak market.s
\{hen the quota system was finally introduced in 1932, the American
companies actually did rcsort to this extre[Ie measure. The Motion Picture
Producers and Distributors of America did not accept the terms of the
czechoslovak quota system. Prague subsidiades of the Am€rican companies
Fox, MGM, Paramount, United Artists and Universal refused to produce
Czech films and stopped the import of American films into Czechoslovakia.
This event dramatically transformed the landscape of distdbution offerings
in very shod order. What had until then been the dominant share
of American cinema in the Czechoslovak market fell to fourth place over
the course of 1932. The American's privileged position was taken over by
German cinema - iust as Adolf Hitler was cominS into power in Germany,6
'Ihe Prague subsidiary of the German company Ufa ended up reacting in
precisety the opposite fashion. Ufa decided to accept the new conditions and
began producing its own Czech films. The first of them, The Little W dow
(okllrko), directed by Vladimir Slavinski and featuring rising stars HuSo Haas
(who would be dismissed from the National Theatre in 1938 because of his
Jewish origins) and Lida Baarov6, premiered in early March of 1933.7 Even
Lt2
l ll Gr lutt CiDcDkt i the Cze.lloslovak Region, 1933Js
after the domestic film production requirement for importers was eliminated
in 1934, the Prague branch of Ufa continued producing films in the country.
In total, Ufa produced 15 Czech films between 1933 and 1940.8
Although the Ministry of Trade was satisfied with the economic effect of
the quota system, the new situation provoked considerable tension in film
circles, Cinema owners complained of a shortage of new films, and more
nationalist-oriented iournalists attacked the influx of Gennan films. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed considerable unease as well: Jindiich
Elbl, the foreign ministry's cinema desk officer, who would be one of the
eight authorised representatives of nationalised cinema from 1945 to 194g
(responsible for import and export) charactedsed the overall situation in a
special memorandum to the ninister as follows: ,... the film import policy
of the Ministry of Trade has led, though perhaps unintentionally, to a
situation in which, for the past 2 years, cinematograph theatre has been
systematically promoting a trend and influences in cinema that are undesir_
able and, in part, even antagonistic to the Czechoslovak state governrnent,,e
Under pressure from other government offices and the public, ifter complic_
ated negotiations with the Americans, the Ministry of Trade did finallv
abandon the quota system in November 1934, and the relative strengths;f
key national cinemas in the Czechoslovak rnarket returned to their o;iginal
proportions, although with a significantly lower total volume of films.i0
After the abandonment of the quota system, the Ministry of Trade suggested
to representatives of the domestic film industry that they should regulate
the import of foreign films themselves. This lead to the establishment of
the Cartel of Film Importers (Kartel filmov,ich dovozcri) in September 1935.
The cartel established general rules for film imports, even including price
ceilings which were intended to prevent inflated prices for films due to
intra-market competitlon. Germany, as the second strongest national cinema
represented on the Czechoslovak market, contributed to a large degree to
the general implementation and acceptance of this price regulation. In
January 1936, representatives of the Reich Film Chamber signed an agree_
ment with representatives of Czech cinema governing conditions for the
import of German films into Czechoslovakia. From the Czech perspective
the agreement's maior benefit lay in the acceptance of the piice condi_
tions set by the cartel: the agreement essentially legitimised these terms for
international commerce. Parallel negotiations with representatives of the
Austrian film indr,lstry towards a Czechoslovak-Austrian cinema agreement
broke down over those same tems, for that very reason. pointing to the
newly reached agreement with Germant the Czechoslovak side reieited the
Austian proposals, whlch were based on specitic features ofthe Austdan filn
industry (for example, the fact that in Austda, 90 per cent profits from the
exploitation of feature films came from exports). The Czechoslovak_German
film agreement of 1936 spontaneously becarne a sort ofunofficial standard.rl
February 1937 saw the ratification of a new bilateral film agreement,
this time including the export of Czechoslovak films to Genna;y.r2 The
Iw, Klitnei 115
agreement guaranteed the exchange of films between the two countries in
the ratio of 1:15, with the stipulation that no more than five Czech films
in a German version would be exported to Germany per year. Under the
agreement, these films were to be imported into Germany without quota
sheets and would be treated in the approval procedure like films produced
in Gennany. lmpoded films not covered by this agreement would be subiect
to the standard regime for foreign films.rr The text of the agreement does
not make clear what is meant by German versions of Czech films, whether
that meant a 'multiple language version' (MLV) or a dubbed version (apparently
either). At any rate, it is noteworthy that the ratio stipulated reflected
actual practice: Czechoslovakia produced around five multiple language
versions of Czech films annually from 1931 to 1938, the vast maiodty
of them in German, aiming at German-speaking countdes, and impoted
around 80 German films every year,la The agreement was advantageous for
the Czechoslovak side, as the possibility of bypassing the German quota
system while exporting Czech fitms to the German market benefited Czech
exporters. The Germans, for their part, had a guarantee of the regular acceptance
of the stated number of German films, and with it a permanent presence
on the Czechoslovak market not wlnerable to the increasingly dramatic situation
in bilateral relations at the political level.rs Hence the Reich's strategy
towards the Czechoslovak fihTl industry was a fairly obliSing one, for the
sake of ensudng that German cinema maintained the favourable position it
had been holding in the Czechoslovak market.
In defence of democratic values, the Czechoslovak government (through
the Film Advisory Cowcil (Filnrovy pondli sbot) at the Ministry of Trade)
issued guidelines that set the certain conditions on film imports. Under fhese
guidelines, films that did any of the following wele not admissible:
1. Jeopardise or harm state interests
2. Jeopardise public law and order (regulations)
3. Might lead to disturbances in the national, religious or political tolerance
4. Jeopardise our political - democratic - system either directly or indirectly
through the propaganda of other governments or non-critical praise of
monarchies, aristocratic societiesand so on
5. Evoke and glorify the former politic constellation in Central Europe
6. Mar or contravene the relations of Czechoslovakia towards other nations,
especially towards such as are in agreement with the concepts of
Czechoslovak foreign policy
7. Defame persons of other nations
[. ..]'u
The state also furthered its interests by placinS geographic restrictions on
the use of the language of the German minority, Films dubbed into German
could onty be shown in municipalities where over half the population was
116 Gennan Cifier a in tlrc Czechoslovak Regiotl, 1933-tS
ethnically cerman; if a company showed such a film an',where else, it was
required to pay a fee of 20 000 crowns into the ,registration fund, (a fund
for the promotion of cinema).r7
While the state may have retained certain wadness in its relations with
German, in cinematic circles the German neighbour was viewed with
considerable admiration. Certainly, they were impressed by the interest that
the German government took in cinema. In late April of 1935 there was
an international film congress held in Berlin on behalf of the International
Film Chamber.ls The 4o-member delegation sent to the Berlin congress from
Czechoslovakia came back bearing powedul impressions. Germany could
boast the recently established film academy and the brand new Reich Film
Atchive (Reicltsfiltnarchiv); up to 2500 congress participants were able to see
Leni Riefenstahl's Triunph of the Will (Triunph des Willens, 1935); a 50_
member delegation was even given an audience with Adolf Hitler.re The
International Film Chamber and the International Federation of Film Cdtics
6idArctiott ltltenwtionole de la Prcsse Cininatogtophique, FIPRESCI) were both
established at the congress, which also advocated the establishment of
national film archives, while representatives of the Reich Film Chamber
also appealed for the organisation of national fihn chamben. Although they
denied that it was a source of inspiration, Czech cinematic circles were also
clearly interested in the institution of the Reichsfihrrtttnnatutg2o that same
year, 1935, Julius Schmitt, the leading Czech producer, suggested that some
kind of 'official Czech cinema dramaturge office, might one day emerge from
the current thoughts about film dramaturgy.2r
After Hitler's accession to power, Czechoslovakia became one ofthe destin_
ation countries for emigrants fleeing Germany. Several Jewish producers,
directors and actors found work in the film industry there, despite protests
ftom the film unions. Directors Max Neufeld, Walter Kolm-Velt€e, Jakob
and Luise Fleck, and Robert Land, and actor Hans Jaray and others were
involved in the production of multiple language versions of Czech films.
Czechoslovakia was also one of the maior customers for what were known
as'independent films'from Austria, that is, productions byJewish emigrants
who were attempting to establish themselves in the Austrian film industry,
which had no chance of being exported into Germany.22
German influence on the (Czech) film market of the ,Second
Republic' and the 'Protectomte of Bohemia and Moravia,
(193844/4s)
The Munich Agreement (September 1938) resulted in the dismemberment
of the state of Czechoslovakia. In the west, Sudetenland was incorporated
into Nazi Germany. In the east, Slovakia was turned into an ,independent,
satellite state of Nazi cernlany while poland and Hungary acquired pieces
inhablted by'their'ethnic minodties. The remainder of Czechoslovakia, the
lvnn Klit ei ll7
so-called 'second Republic' or 'rump' Republic, only existed from October
1938 until 15 March 1939. On that date, the Republic was invaded and
occupied by the German Wehrmacht. Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and
was turned into a German 'protectorate'. The Protectorate of Bohemia
and Moravia, as it was henceforth called, still had a Czech govemment but
was in reality governed by the administration of a German Reich Protector.23
The signing of the Munich agreement and the creation of the 'Second
Republic'had an immediate impact on the film sector through the marked
reduction in the size of the cinema theatre network. With the severance of
Sudetenland and additional territodes a total of 545 cinemas (almost 30 per
cent of the odginal network, of which only 354 had been German) were
suddenly outside of the newly demarcated borders.2r A xenophobic mood
accompanied the oppressive atmosphere in the 'rump' republic. Nationalist
rhetoric was heard mingled with the rhetoric of anti-Semitism, even in the
film sector. Pa icularly enterprising in this respect was the Czechoslovak
Film Union (es- fllmovti u?rie), under the leadership of director Vaclav
Binovec, as well as the Central Union of Cinematographers, which deliberately
ptayed the anti-Semitic card in its attack on film rental operations, and
on local subsidiaries of Amedcan companies in partiolar.2s
The establishment of the Protectorate fuelled extensive changes in the
entire film sector. Shock at the collapse of the Republic fed a spontaneous
desire towards internal integration of the sector. In response to the
country's occupation, as early as May 1939, the Centre of Film Branche
('stiedi filmoviho obotu) was set up, associating the individual representatives
of the Central Union of Cinematographers, the Film Production Union
(Svaz filnov! vfroby), the Film Industry and Commerce Unior' (Svaz filttloviho
priunyslu t obchor\L), the Film Import Association (Sdrrrze,i ftlntovdlto tlovozu)
and the Czech Film lJnion (teskd fitmovA Mie).The r'ew central organisation
underwent several transformations over the following months' As of July it
rvas subject to the supewision of Hermann Glessgen, film cornmissioner of
the Office of the Reich Protector. The aim of this centralised union institution,
which gradually took on the character of a film chamber, was to create
more stable internal organisation on the one hand and to protect it from the
outside on the other. At the same time, of course, its very existence made it
easier for the Germans to inplement occupation policies in the film sector
and to regulate domestic cinema securely.26
In the end, the plan of creating a film chamber came to fruition under
German direction. By decree of the Reich Protector, dated 26 October 1940,
on 15 February 1941 the Bohemian-Moravian Film Center (eeskonoravskd
ftlmov1 tistted( - Baitunischaniihrische Fitmzentrate, aMFt IBMFZ) was created, a
Czech-German public corporation with mandatory membership for all business
ownersf merchants and artistic film employees engaged in film-making
(formally this obligation extended to German subjects of the Protectorate2T).
The chairman (a Czech) and vice-chairrnan (a German) were appointed by
I lg (i'ni4 Cinerrn in the Czechoslorak Region, 193315
Joseph Goebbels (ftont) visits the BarraDdov Studios in prague on 5 November 1940.
On the left: state sectetaryKarl Herrnann Frank..tolrrce: Czech News Agenc, CTK photo
Desk.
the Reich Protector and the Protectorate government had three representatives
in the organisations management. The state delegated several of its
powers to this highest-level body of corporate self-govemment, including
that of granting concessions for the operation of cinemas. The mission of the
CMFU was to promote cinema within the framework of the overall economy,
set binding regulations for internal transactions within the sector, represent
the interests of individual groups, and resolve any conflicts arising among
members of the chamber, All professional cinematic actlvities within protectorate,
territory fell under its iurisdiction. As the rullng body in the sector,
the CMFU acted with great enterprise and regulated with directives the
everyday activities in the film sector down to a high level of detail. In addition
to a wide range of lower level directives, it introduced the mandatory
registration of film subiects (December l94l), the approval of programmes
produced (December 1941), an obligatory sequence for the information in
the introductory credits and a maximum length for them of 5O m (July 1942),
Ivatl Klifilei 119
and monitodng of correct Czech usage by Czech language experts. It also
set a maximum length of 2600 m for a feature film (August 1941) and
imposed a compulsory film pro-gramme: cultural short (Kulturfrltn), newsteel
and feature film Uuly 1941). aMF0 clearly ruled the czech film industry
and continued to so right up until May 1945, when it ceded its duties
to the National Committee of Czech Film Workers (Mirodni vlbor iesk'ich
ftlrnovych pracovtriki4. througn ivltj, czecn film workers Sained considerable
expedence with the central direction of the sector as a whole and in that
sense it represents a significant developmental phase on the path towards
the post-war introduction of the state monopoly in fihn commerce, when
many former eMF0 representatives found employment in the ruling bodies
of nationalised cinema. The establishment of the aMFo brought with it a
fundamental change in the overall legal framework in the film sector, as it
de f.icfo revoked the effectiveness of Ministe al Act No. 191 of 18 Septemher
1912, which had untit then been the key legal standard in the sector.28
Before the Munich Agreement dismembered Czechoslovakia's so-called
'First Republic' (1918-38), two central authodties shared iurisdiction over the
film sector. The Ministry of the lnterior was responsible for film censorship
and the issue of cinema theatre licenses whereas the Ministry of Trade took
care of everything else, for example allocating state funds for film production
and foreign currency for film imports, awarding of film prizes and so on. The
Germans took over film censorship on 1 September 1939 - the responsibility
went to the Office of the Reich Protector, where later on a film inspection
office (Filnqiifstelle) was set up based on the German model. The Ministry
of the Interior lost its second area of competence (licenses for cinema theatre
operatiolN) with the establishment of tne eVpU. Following dismantlement
of the Ministry of Trade in a wider reorganisation of central authorities,
cinema (now more or less limited to decisions regarding funds for Czech filn
production) came into the purview of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment
(Ministerctvo lidove osvEty) in Janraty L942.
Two events symbolised the approaching fate of the Czech film industry
under the Protectorate. On 16 March 1939, the name of Osvald Kosek, the
only member of Jewish descent of the AB Company's board of directo$,
was struck from Commerce Register. That same day also saw an unsuccessful
attempt by Czech fascists to occupy the studios at Barrandov. Right from
the start, the fundamental objective of the German occupiers in the film
arcna was to take control of the production base of Czech cinema. Their
main instrument in this, as in other sectors of the Czech economy, was the
Reich Protector's Decree on Jewish Property of 21 July 1936, which set off
the'Aryanisation' process.
In Juty 1939, an 'Aryanisation office' for the entire film sector was created
in Prague. A registry of famity odgin (the so-called'Aryan registry') was
set up at this office; this was the office that registered the confirmations
of 'Aryan' descenl (Arienlsch$teis) that were a prerequisite for continuing
l )tt t; Lttt t t itlr tt iu tlk (:^dtostowk Regiotr, j93315
in tlre field. The requirement to submit such a document to the director
of the Aryanisation office by 30 September 1930 extended to all company
owne6, all board members (boards of directo$ and management boards),
authorised agents, directors and signatories, as well as to lic".rrees, opuratorr,
and directors of cinema theatres, and to artistic film_worken involved in
film production (including director,s assistants, production heads, sound
technicians, etc.). Jewish staff had to be dismissed by 15 August 1939, so
that Czech cinema would enter the 1939/194O with no Jewistremployees.
InJuly and November 1939, the German ,trustee, (TreuhAnder) Kirl Schulz
took over respectively the modern studios of Barrandov with its exped_
enced and high-quality staff and the Host studios in prague. Largely through
his efforts, all three Prague studios gradrjally feli into German hinds. The
naiodty stakeholder in AB Company, Milos Havel, was forced to sell his
shares to cermans in the spring of i940; Bat,a Film Studios (FilmovA ak\try
Bot'a, FAB) had to give up their lease on the studio in Hostivai, and
finally, Karl Schulz manoeuvred the owner of prague,s third studios, Foia
in Radlice, into selling them in March 1942. Only a few days earlier the
Bat'a studios in Zlin had succumbed to pressure ftom the German l.obis
group of companies - which set up the subsidiary company Bohemian_
Moravian Small Film Company (Bijhntisch-miihrist:he SchtialfiingesellschafI)
which specialised padicularly in animated and puppet film too.2!
Control of the production base of Czech cinema represented the first
step along the path to the planned liquidation of Czech film production.ro
This end was never actually fully achieved, but nevertheless the indicators
for domestic production from the protectorate years are alaming. Annual
production of feature live-action films fell from 41. in lg3g to tin 1944.
From 1943 to 1945 only two Czech firms were allowed to produce films:
National film and the Havel family,s Lucernafilm. In the new environment,
Czech.produc€rs had to rely completely on production capacity allotted by
Prag-Film; only rarely and with difficulty could they get alcess to the most
modern studios, those at Barrandov. Only 23 Czech films were made at
Bauandov in the years of the protectorate (only 1t between 1941 and 1945),
while 42 German films were produced there in the same period. The majority
of the Czech tilms that were made were filmed in the smaller and less well
equipped studios in Hostivai and Radlice. In total, 124 feature live_action
films and 1230 other films were made in Czech production ftom 1939 to
1945. Although the effect on the production volume of documentary and
news films was relatively small, the nurnber of producers was reduced by
half. cerman film production developed alongside Czech film production
in the territory of the Protectorate, with using Czech directors, cimeramen,
composers, actors and other professions, including the Czech technical staff
at the Barrandov studios.
In late 1941, the Germans transformed the AB Company into the stock_
company Prag-Film for this purpose; the conpany then becarne part of the
Ivnn Klit e: l2l
Reich's Ufa group of film companies (and, Iater on, of the Ufi Trust). Prague
and its Barrandov studios evidently played a key role in the plans made
by the Germans for cinema: a new studio was constructed at Bafiandov at
Goebbels' instigation; there was major renovation of the film laboratories,
as well as the introduction of colour film production; the establishment of
the animated film studios; and the founding of the Prag-Film Orchestra in
1943, which was transformed into the Film Symphony Orchestra (Filrrovf
syntfonicky orchestrs, FYslo) after liberation.3r
Film commerce was also subjected to extensive changes during the Protectorate
yea$. After 15 March 1939, a whole raft of czech, American and French
films were banned, and as were all Soviet films. With the onset of the war
in September 1939, atl remaining English and French films were banned
and there was a further reduction in American films. The last remaining
Amedcan films stayed on the Czechoslovak market to a limited extent right
up until the United States entered the war. Although the itnport of nearly the
entire German production partially 'compensated' for this loss, the statistics
reveal a rclatively dramatic recession in film commerce. By 1944 the number
of premiers had fallen by nearly 65 per cent (ftom 242 in 1939 to 87 in
1944). Germany had an unrivalled hegemony on the market; German films
represented 55-69 per cent of new annual offerings in the years 1940-44. Of
all German films, only certain propaganda films were not made available to
Czech audiences, those which might provoke negative feelings in the Czech
population against the protectorate (for example, Veit Harlan's The Solden
Ciry (Die goldene Sttldt, 1942), portrayinS, in Heitnatideologie spirit, the tragic
fate of a Gennan girt from the countryside who is destroyed by her association
with a Czech waiter from Prague).32 Local Czech production had a
share ranging from 10 to 17 per cent of annual offerings.
Clearly, Czech films enioyed the greatest popularity with the public
during the Protectorate: public demand regularly kept Czech films in Prague
premiere cinemas two to three times longer than German films. German
films were by no means the subiect of any boycott, though one indication
for which is the steep rise in audience attendance numbers against the background
of the domination of German films in the Protectorate market. But
it was rare for German tilms to be as popular with cinema audiences as their
Czech counterparts - with the exception, it would seem, of Willy Forst's
Operctta (Operette, 1940), the 'Austdan' musical 'retro'film with its multiple
star cast, and Ufa's spectacular German colour film, M ttchhausett (7943),
fouth in the series.
The decline in film commerce was accompanied by a reduction in the
number of operations doing business in the sector. [n the 193Os, approximately
40 film distributors rented out films in Czechoslovakia. There were
still 20 such operations active in 1939; however, with the concentration
took place within the film commerce sector, by 1943 there were only 7 (9
in 19,14).33 A considerable change in the legal status of such operations also
122 Gc an Chlend it1 the Cze.ltuslovnk Regiotl, 1933Js
played a role. Film commerce had always been,free,, but from 1941 one
required permission from the aMFU to engage in it.
At the start of the Protectorate, there were four newsreels in the
Czech Lands - the domestically produced Aktualitn in two editions, Ufa,s
Auslatrlstortwoche (Foreign Weekly Newsreel ATW, in Czech and German
versions) and two American productions, Fox (Czech) and pannnutt (Czech
and German). Production of the American newsreels was stopped in 1939, so
for the remaining pedod only thle Aktualitt and Uta newsreels were shown
in cinema theatres in Protectorate territory: both completely in the service
of German war propaganda,
For the period of I year, beginning in late July of 1937, the odginal
Czechoslovakian newsreel /kAlrilifa, issued by the conpany of the same
name (in which the state had a partial interest), was issued in a German
version as well, targeting the Geman minority in Czechoslovakia. In August
of 1938, the German edition was cancelled due to lack of interest on the
part of Sudeten German cinemas or to be more precise, it was replaced
by a second Czech version (B).31 Aktualita continued to operate after the
Protectorate began - with one of the company's co-founders, Karel peieny,
as its head. In February 1942, Aktuoliti received a new owner: the Deutsche
Wochetschau GrrrH, responsible within the system of the German film
indristry tbr filln news reporting within the Reich and the newly acquired
territodes. ,Aktlc/itd continued to bring out A and B versions, with the new
addition of Gennan subtltles. A newsreel consisted of six to seven iterns,
more than half of which were taken over from the ATW or German Weekly
Newsreel (Deiltscre Wochet$chiu) - generally with a week,s delay. The final
two items were always connected with the situation on the front.3s Showing
them was mandatory in cinemas and there were even controls set up to
ensure that audience admission genuinely took place prior to the newsreel
screening rather than just before the main feature. The peiod of their
circulation was also gradually decreased from 28 to 16 weeks in 1940 and
then to 10 weeks in 1941, for reasons of relevancy. In view of the fact
that 55 copies of Aktualita were produced in contrast to only 16 copies the
Deutsche Wochetrschau GnfuH made in the final period of the protectorate,
it is clear lhat Aktuolito was competently fulfilling the propaganda aims
of the German occupying powers. The Aktuolita $ew also received certain
special assignments - for example, recordingJoseph Goebbels, 3-day visit to
Prague in November 1940; portraying the destroyed town of Lidice in the
post-Heydrich era; and making propaganda film about Terezin.16
Cinemas were fairly evenly distributed around Bohertia and Moravia (in
contrast to a much lower density in Slovakia, let alone Ruthenia). With the
severance of the Sudetenland under the Munich Agreement, the number
of cinemas on the territory of the Republic had fallen from 1850 to 1279,
and the dissolution of the Republic saw the further loss of the cinemas
in Slovakla and (Hungarian-occupied) Ruthenia. When the protectorate was
lvon Klinrci 123
formed there were a total of 1115 cinemas in the Bohemian Lands. While
the number of cinemas in Czechoslovakia had atready been essentially stagnating
from 1933 to September 1938, numbers in the territory of the Protectorate
actually rose by almost 12 per cent, during the pedod of 1939-44,
to 1244 cinemas. As in the territory of the Third Reich, the construction
of permanent cinemas for narrow film was tlpical for the period: 77 such
cinemas were built fron 1941 on. It is also interesting to note a new shift
associated with the long-term decrease in the number of travelling cinemas,
whose historical role had appeared to be drawing to a close in the 1930s.
In the Protectorate period the number of travelling cinemas returned to the
levels of the first half of the 1930s, although their econornic significance
was negligible on the whole, and their cultural significance was of secondary
iurportance.3T
Legal conditions for operating cinemas were fundamentally changed. The
license system that dated back to I January 1913 was eliminated as of 31
July 1941 and replaced at first with the requirement of aMF0 membership
and then, as of 30 July 1943, with the introduction of cinema concessions,
this time tied to professional eliSibility as determined by the CMFU, and not
by Ministry of the Interior as it had been prior to 1941. So, paradoxically,
it was under the Protectorate - although under distorted circumstances that
film-makers finally got what they had been striving for since the
early years of the century's second decade. hl the early days of occupation,
Aryanisation had a marked effect on tlle structure of cinema ownership.3s
Another fundamental transformation of the structure of cinema operators
took place when activities of the Sokol gymnastic organisation, the most
significant operator, accounting for rnore than half of cinemas, were halted
in the spring of 1941.3e tn 1942, the Bohemian-Moravian Cinematographic
Company (eeskonoruvskd kinenstosrcfickA spoleinost) was established in
order to operate the Sokol cinemas (and those of the Legionnaires), under
German administration and management. A similar fate caught up with
the Orel cinemas, after the Catholic gymnastic organisation's activities were
stopped in 1942: its cinemas were thenceforth adninistered by a special
' tustee' (Trcuhiirfier des besclllLgtlolltntett O rel -Verniigen s),
Cinema attendance rates dtuing the Protectorate show a continual
increase - over 127 million viewen for 1944 - an incredible 132 per cent
increase compared with 1939. No single factor was responsible for this abrupt
rise. Most European countries saw steep increases in attendance dudng the
war years. ln addition, this increase is a siSn that Czech society accepted
cinema as an autonomous cultural phenomenon and turned to it at a time
of upheaval in culturat life with corresponding interest. It is quite clear that
a significant role was played by the maintenance and even improved quality
of Czech production, which enioyed truly exceptional popularity. Cinema's
position was also strengthened by the Sradual reduction in other t'?es of
entertainment available, culminating in the closure of theatres in 1944.
124 Gefi tln Chrcno it1 the Czechoslovok Region, 193315
According to contemporary witnesses, in late 1939 a maior discussion took
place at the Prague's cultural centre Mr1res in which several dozen writers,
film-makers and actors attempted to find an answer to the essential question
of whether to attempt to keep maintaining and further developing Czech
cinema amidst the restrictions and lack of freedom, or to stop working in
protest at the situation and wait for the post-war pedod. The assembly came
to the conclusion (influenced by the remarks of Vladislav Vaniura, among
others) that it was crucial to preserve every opportunity of contact between
artists and the public. Three basic prlnciples for Protectorate film-making
were formulated at the meeting: films (particularly those with contemporary
subject matter) must not come across as collaborationist; they should foster
a mood of resistance in the Czech population (specifically, by strengthening
national feeling through references to cultural and historical tradition);
and the ultimate end should be an overall improvement in the quality
of domestic production.r0 In the field of the fiction film, film-makers in the
main managed to kecp these resolutions; the area of news and documentary
films, however, was a more problematic one.
The attempt to stiffen resistance in the public by accentuating national
cultural and historical tradition was typical of film-making in the years of
the Protectorate, and the 1939-41 period in particular. Films based on the
works of a whole raft of classic Czech w tels were produced, while Czech
national music and the local musical tradition in general were also much in
the foreground. Films of this kind could be relied on to resonate with the
publig without glving the censors any grounds for obiection. FrantiSek a6p s
scrupulous adaptation of the Bozena N€mcove novel Babii&.i (Grandmother,
19,10), culminating in the'national oath'of loyalty to the Czech land, and
Vladimir Slavinski's film Thdl Was 6 Czech Musician (To byl teski muzikart,
1940) about bandleader FrantiSek Kmoch, the author of a long series of
popularised songs, were both cited in a Gestapo report on Czech cultural
efforts in 1940 as examples of films that had inspired spontaneous national
demonstrations in cinemas.rr
Along with the films taking up the symbolic material of national themes,
of course, production of films that were purely entertaining and freqr,lently
not of the best quality continued unabated in the early years of the Protectorate.
But shrinking opportunities for domestic film production stimulated
increased interest in the quality of Czech cinema in both producers and state
authorities, who hoped to demonstrate Czech cultural maturity, even in this
young, modern medium, Urgency born of extemal pressure led essentially
to a 'natural' selection of artists according to their talent or solid technical
mastery. On the creative side, the dominating personalities among directors
in Czech Protectorate cinema were primarily Otakar Viivra and Martin Frii,
Frantisek aiip for the youngest generation. The attention of film circles and
state authorities was also concentrated on attention to the literary groundwork
of a film, resulting in the increasing role of film dramaturgy. ln 1940,
1t4,1 Klitne: 125
initiated by the Minister of Trade, the Council of Film Lectors \Sbot fihnoYicll
/ektoni) was established to assess screenplays and original material for films,
with some of the leading Czech writers as members.42 In 1940 and 1941, as
a flamboyant manifestation of Czech cinema culture, the first screenings of
the year's new Czech films were held at an event held in Zlin funded by the
Ministry of Trade called the 'Film Harvest' (Filrtrovi znE). (Preparations for
the next year were thwarted by the Germans.)
Cinema in 'independent' Slovakia (1938.44/45\
Despite the exceptional circumstances and repressive pressure, the Czech
film industry demonstrated a marked ability to survive and a clear stabillty
that were the products of its sophistication, its popularity with Czech audiences
and its low level of economic dependence on exports. Paradoxically,
not even as shocking an expedence as the dissolution of the state, which
had a severe impact on many sectors, had a very great immediate impact
on the film sector. In the interwar years, from the internal perspective,
Czechoslovak cinema and Czech cinerta were one and the same: all production
capacity was in Bohemia and Moravia; Prague, Brno and Zlin had
become the major film centres. Regular prodr,lction did not develop in Slovakia
until the late 1930s; only one-off, occasional activity went on there. In
the same pedod, attempts to build up the regional film dist buting oPerations
tended to be of short duration, due to the sparse nature of the cinerna
network. After the establishment of the independent Slovakian state, the
Slovakian government decided to address this situation. Act No. 14 of 18
January 1940 established that'a company to be appointed by the Ministry
of the Economy shall attend to domestic film production, building up of
cinernas, and the import, export and commerce in films in the territory of
the Republic of Slovakia'.r3 The Ministry appointed the company Nastup, the
establishment of which the government itself had aranged in the Previous
months. Nistup was a limited share company, with 51 per cent state participation.
The act Suaranteed this company a monopoly position in the area
of film commerce, import and export. N6stup took over (with German assistancer{)
production of the newsreel of the same name, N.istllp, which had
been produced since November 1938. In addition to film news reporting, it
engaged to a limited extent in the production of documentary films.
The establishment of an independent Slovakian state also brought a
change in the structure of the owners and operators of cinemas with regard
to nation of origin. By law, only Slovakian citizens could aPply for a cinemaoperating
license. As a result, corporations based in Prague and Brno lost
their cinemas, as did Jewish operators, whose enterprises were swallowed up
by the fascist 'Hlinkova garda'. By 1945, that organisation owned 131 of a
total of 254 cinemas.as
I2t3 C.ninn Ci,te la i tlrc Czealoslorak Regiott, 1933-15
Slovakian cinema, forming rather belatedly and, to some extent, at the
state's behest, did not have adequate technical foundations for film production
and was also confronted with serious deficits of personnel. Both of
these factors were remembered when plans for the post-war organisation of
the sector were made illegauy by Czech and Slovak film workers working
tog€ther. Their views were influenced by recent e\perience with the exceptional
significance of culture in times of oppression. Film professionals from
a range of political persuasions made plans for the nationalisation of the
sector from around 19,11, in the conviction that as cinema was, in the first
rank, a cultural phenomenon the state ought to take over its care. State officials
came to share the opinion that the role of the state in cinena should be
strengthened, as evidenced by the draft for a directive on the nationalisation
of cinen-ras drawn up by the government-in-exile in London.16 Cinena was
ultimately nationalised as a whole, by Decree of the President of the Republic
No. 50/-15 of 11 Arigust 1945, the first sector of the national economy in the
liberated Republic of Czechoslovakia to be so.
Notes
1. N. M. Wingfield, 'When FilD Became National: "Talkies', and the ADti-cennan
l)emonstrations of 1930 in Prague', Arjtrid, HistoD, yearbook, 29:1 (D9a),
pp. ff3-38; D. Moravcovi, eeskoslovensko, Ni.l,e(ko a evropski h uti t979-j932
(Praha: Institut pro stiedoewopskou kulturu a politiku, 2001), pp. 198 216.
2. P. Szczepanik, 'Pondnaeni Holllwood v Praze: Recepce ,,D6mecliich verzi,, a
popularita zahraniinich fihnir v praZskich kinech poaiitkem 30. let', Ihuni ae,
rB:1 (2006), pp. 59-84.
3. The oDe-off Iee lor use of patent intiinging equiplnent ranged froln ,1000 to 9000
crowns depeDdiDg on the size of the cinelna.
4. For details of the quota systerrl, see G. Heiss and I. KlilDei, ,Kulturindustrie
und Politik: Die Filrnwirtschaft der Tschechoslowakei und Osterreichs in der
politischen Krise der dreiBiger Jahre', in G. Heiss and I. Klilnei (eds), Orrd4 ir,jrlj
tesqt a rakousbt liln 30. k't/Biklel der Zeit: Ts.he.his.hct un(t i;stertei.his.het Filn
der 30et Jnlre lPralln - BrDo: NFA - OSI Brno, 2003), pp. .108-f0, ,157.
5. I. Klimei, 'Stat a filDrovi \"iroba ve dvaciitich letech', Ilu ind.e,9t1 (1997),
pp. 14f-9; 'Osnova zdkona k podpoie douriici tilmove vitoby,, Ilunhne,9i4
(1997), pp. 161-75.
6. The issue is not that sirDple of course. Even ilnports of GerDan filurs registered
a huge drop (froln 171 fillns in 1931-84 in 1932)_ This was a teflection of the
Ministry oI Trade's drastic overall restriction of intports i[ 1932 - jlnports overall
were down by a factor of 56 per cent relative to 1931.
7. Baarov6 eventually left Prague for Berlin. She starred in several German productions
but was forced to leave the country in 1938, when Hitler ordered the
break-up of her iove affair with Joseph Goebbels. H. Fraenkel and R. MaDvell,
Goebbels det Vetfiilrct' (N{iiDchen, f960), pp.2.f0-8.
8. 1933: Oki,,ko \Tltt Little WitldoiN, dir. Vladimir SlaviDski), Ieji llkoi \Her Do.tot,
dir. Vladilrrir Slavinski), Madlo z.ihehty (Modla ftoDt thc Brickttotks, dir. Vladimir
Slavinski); 19341 Zlatti Kiteii,n lcol.letl C.ttlrritle, dft. Vladilnir Slavinshi), Dokrld
nfii tnanrittku (Wlile you Hatle n Mothet, dir. Jan Svitik), Gtanrlhot(l Nevodo
10.
9.
11.
t2.
Ivntl Klit eS 727
lctntklhotel Nel,i.la, dir. Jan Svitiik); 1935: Po ote. Karaftrit (Fathet Kanfitit, dft.
Jan Svitek); 1936i Konedintltskti lincezno lThe Cotnedidtl's P n.ess, dir. Miroslav
CikAn), Jrdrtle,,ka (Ihe Sedrr.ttrrss, dir. Martilr FrL); 1937. Advokitkn Vdo (Low,'er
Vem, dir. Martin Fia), Lidi na kie (Prolrle ott the lcebetg, dir. Martin frii);
1938: Skoln zikla.l iit,ota \sdlool Is the Fo ndation of Life, dit. Martin Fria); 1939:
Iitli vztluch (Chdngiry Wind, dir. Martin Ftit), Tul(ik Mo.oun \Mo.o , the TratnP,
dir. Ladislav Brom); 19,10: Katdkorlb| lThe CatacoDtbs, dir. Martin Fria). But no
multiple language version was produced for any of these films.
Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IlL section 1918-39, box'100, \'ol.
Osv€ta, no. 13.60211934; Foreign ministry to interior lninistry, Prague, 2TJanuary
1934.
In tlle years of the quota system, that is 1932-34, Dew Gernan Iihns accounted
for 37.9 per cent of total film premieres {the formetly doDrinant United States
accounted in the same period for only 15.5 per cent), from 1935 37 it was 24.3
per ceit (42.3 per cent for Amedcan films). Nevertheless, the principle of the
approval procedures for film imports introduced in Czechoslol'okia in 1931 was
retained and was reflected in the decrease of the total volunle of newly released
fihns - iD the final years of the 1920s there were 500-600 lrew filDrs annually,
fronr 1932 to 193,1 the state cut that number to 219,215 and 216, respectively.
From 1935 to 1937, the average number of new fiims reached 328. According to
the experts of the time, the capacity of the Czechoslovak cinema network (with,
on the average, 1925 cinemas in the years l93l-37) alnounted in fact to around
300 irew films.
Heiss and Klirnei (2003), pp. 440 52, ,175-83. For Czech and Germarlanguage
versions of the agreernelnt, see N(ilotln/ filDlol)t.'lratit' (National Film Archive, NFA),
Iile 'Kartel filnovich dovozcil'.
The Reichsfilmkarnmer represented Gerlnany; representatives of the three lnaior
profes5ioDal associations (Film lndustry and Comlnetce Union of Czechoslovalir,
FilDr Production Unions in Czechoslovakia attd Central Union of Cinenratographers
in Czechoslovakia) signed for Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak
Ministry of Foreign Affairs vieived activities of this sott with considerable disquiet,
as they were not subject to any state controls although there could be no doubt
about their foreign policy illrplications. There was Do aPplopdate counterpart to
the Reichsfilnkanrner either in the Czechoslovak filtn industry or in the strlctures
oI the state adrninistration, which both colnPlicated negotiations for the
agreement aDd somewhat reduced its significance. Nazi Germany was very iirterested
in seeing other couDtries establish Iiltn chalnbers, vielving such chambers
as an institutioDal instrurnent for furthering GernaD il1fluence. That is why the
Gennany was so ilvoived in the activities of the International Film Chamber.
Czech version of the agreement: J. Havelka, is. trrot,l /lospodiistli IV: Rok 1937
(l'raha: Nakladntelstvi Knihovny Filmov€ho liur;iru, 1938), pp. l5-16; German
l'ersion of the agreement: 'Fillnabkommen bereits in Kraft: Der offizielle Wortlaut
der deutsch'asl. Filmvereinbarungen', Fi/,rwo.re lAussig], I7:10 (1937), p. 1.
L Khnes, 'Multiplelnnguage versions of Czech films aDd the Iiilrl industry in
Czechoslovakia in the I930s', Chle|n & Cie,,l (Spriig 2004), pp. 89-101.
The conclusion of bilateral film agreements became practically standard practice
iD the second half of the 1930s. Germany was at the foreftont of this, trying to
regain the ground in the European Darkets that it had lost following the Nazis'
accession to ponrer. Czechoslovakia entered such aD agreeDent with the United
13.
14.
15.
128 Gennan Chenn in tlk CzTltoslotdk Region, 193315
States (i[ the fonn oI a[ exchange oI note) in Ju[e 1938. For a list of signed
agreeDeDts, see Heiss aDd KlirDej (2003), p. 445.
16. J. Havelka, es. ftlnovi hospocliistt'i III. Rok )936lp:f,tj^: Nakladatelstvi Knihovny
Filnov€ho kuriru, f937), p. 19.
17. Ibid.
18. See Chapter 2.
19. The Czech delegates at this audience were ErDst Hollmann, chairman of the Svaz
nEmeckich kin v aSR (UnioD of cerman Cinelnas in Czechoslovakia), and the
chairman of the Central Union of Cinematographers, Vladirnir Wokoun, who
later represented Czechoslovakia at the hrternational FilDr Chalnber.
See the introductoty chapter by Welch & Vande Winkel.
J. Schmitt, 'FilrnovA situace optirnisiicky', Pllto,rrloJt, t2124 lt935), p. 377.
A. Loacker and M. Prucha (eds), Ure,rrll,rsa/lfeJ KiDo: DeI deutsahspmcltig!
E tilnintenlilt l93-1,1937 (Wie[: Fihnarchiv Austria, 2000).
Hitler initially appointed Konstalltin von Neurath. Von Neurath was gtaclually
replaced by Reinhard Fleydrich. After Heydrich's assassirtation, ColoDel Kurt
Daluege becanre Reich Protector.
J. Havellia, Filt ot,t hospoIiisni l./.. 1938 (Praha: Nakladatelstvi Klihovny
Filmovdho kurinr, 1939), p. '11.
L KlirneS, 'Die "ljrtiudung" der tschechischen Fillnindustrie,, in Loacker allcl
20.
21.
22.
2,1.
25.
1t'ott Klitnei 129
35. K. Margry, 'Newsreels in Nazi-Occupied Czechoslovakia: Klrel Peceny al1d his
Newsreel Company Aktualita', Hi.ttori.d/ /ounnl of Film, Radio ond Teletisioll, 24tI
(2004), pp. 69-I I7.
36. K. Margry, 'Theresienstadt (1944-.15): the Nazi propaganda film dePicting the
concentration canrp as paradise', Historicnl lotnlal of Fihn, Radio and Teleritiott,
1L2 (1992), pp. 115-62.
37. L. Pistora, 'Fihnovi n6\'Stdvnici a kina na izerni eesk€ republiky: Od vzniku filmu
do roku 1945', //rrl,i1dce,8,1 (1996), pp. 35-60.
38. T. Dvoiiikova, 'Frurkce treuhaDdera v protektoritniln filmovnictvi', 1/lrri0d.e,
l6:l (2004), pp. 11113; 'Priva a povinnosti treuhandera', ibid., pp. ll5-25.
39. 'lhere were 692 Sokol cinemas as of I Januaty 1945. The cinemas continued
to operate, but revenues flowed into the account of the 'Finance Office'
(Venndgensamt). Havelka (1946), p. 51.
40. E. Klos, Dnnoh gie je ktlli. . . Filtnoti pi.odce pto zoititeinky i poktoiil! \Ptahai
asF0, 1987), pp. 4l-2.
41. F. Springer, 'Dirvdrni zpriva gestapa o aesk€m kulturnirn irsili v roce 1940',
Srobodnl zltick,2,3 (19'16), p. 8.
42. l. Klimes, 'Stit a filmovii kultura', Ihutli,B.e, ll:2 11999), pp. 125-36.
43. V. Macek and J. PaSt6lovi, Delirl s/or"nskei kine latogtdfie \Martin: Osveta, 1997),
p. 83.
4,1. See Chapter 18.
45. Ibid., pp. 7,{-6.
46. K. Jeclr and K. Kaplan, Dekrcl,Prczidenta raPubliky 19.40 1915: Dokunrcnf,'I lRrr.o:
USD AV aR in Doplnak, 1995), pp. 390-2f.
Prucha (2000), pp. 77-8,1.
26. J.Dole2al, Ceski kultun zd prctektonitu: Sko|st1,/, pisc uti.-^,/, kinendtosntfit (pial]rai
NFA, f996); T. Fauth, DerltJ.lie Kulturpolitik i,t Ptot(ktotdt Bt)hnetj und Miihrcn
1939 bis 1911 (Gottingei: V&R unipress,200-1).
27. This regulatioi brought the Office of the Reiclt Protector into coDflict with the
Berlin leadership of the Ndtiolnlsozialis.ht Deuts.lte Arbeite,pnftei (NSDAP), witich
irnmediately protested against having a Czech head up the eMFi. But the Office
of the Reich Protectot considered it ilnportant that the lrlaiy ur)popular measures
that the aN{Fo was to introduce be brought in under Czech iuspices. See the
correspondence between the propagaDda office, Rtialtspropdgat loleih tg, of t]ne
NSDAP and the Office of the Reich Protector [Ant des Reichsprotektors] of 194I,
Bundesarchiv (BA), NS/18 (ReichspropagaDdaleitung der NSDAP), vol. 361.
28. J. Hora, Filtnoy' pniyo lP$ha: Pravnick€ knihkupectvi a nakladatelstvi V. Linhart,
1937); K. Knap, Piehled pnito filDtotillo \[Praha]: Knihovna Filorov€ho kuriru,
1945). The official press organ of the ttr,lfU was the bilingual y,tsfrll
Ceskotnoftil'skiho fillnov[ho tistiedi^,litteilulgen bijhDtis.ha iihtis.he FilrDzotrale
( t 94 r-.15).
29. P. Bednaiik, Arizd.( ieski kitleltoto{nfie (Praha: Karolinutn, 2003).
30. T. Dvoiakovii, 'NerDecke dohoda o budoucnosti kinernatogralie protektoritu,,
Ih!trhnce 11i4 (2002), pp. 101-5.
31. T. Dvoiiikovi, 'Prag-Film (i9.11-19.15): V priDiku protektoretni a iissk6
kilrematografie', MA tltesis, Dept. of filtrl studies, Faculty of Arts and philosoplty,
Charles University in Prague, Praha,2002; Fauth (200,1), pp. 2l-2.
32. These propaganda fillns were sltown in selected cillemas that only lvehnnacht
and NSDAP melnbers could attend.
33. J. Havelka, Filntuva hospodiistui r, i6ki.h zerli.h o tM Slorcnsku 1939 , 1915
(Praha: Cs. Iilnlov6 Dakladatelstvi, f9,16), p.38.
3.1. I. Klimes and P. ZerDaD, 'Aktualita 1937-1938: eeskoslovenskyi zvukol.ri
tidenik/Tschechoslorvakische ToDbildschau/Slovelrski zvuko\ni tizdennik,,
Cirr.,/lrli & Cie [Bologr)a], No. ,1 (Spring 2005), pp. 62-70.