Zdeněk Urbánek
Zdeněk Urbánek (born October 12, 1917 in Prague , † July 12, 2008 in Prague) was a Czech writer, translator, university educator and signatory of Charter 77 .
He graduated from high school in 1936 and studied on the philosophical faculty of Charles University . After completing his studies, he became editor of the publishing house "Evropský literární klub" (European literary club).
During the German occupation he hid Jews several times in his small apartment, which also served as a warehouse for food that was later smuggled into the Theresienstadt concentration camp. The Yad Vashem Memorial later awarded him the title Righteous Among the Nations .
In 1945 he became editor of the newspaper "Svobodné slovo" (free word), after which he worked in the Ministry of Information. From 1949 he worked as a lecturer for the Czechoslovak state film company and soon afterwards as secretary for dramaturgy on the artistic advisory board
After 1957 he was mainly concerned with translations and wrote articles on theater for various magazines. After 1968 he was no longer allowed to work as a writer. For this reason, his translations appeared under the names of his friends. From 1972 he wrote for various literary samizdat and exile periodicals. After 1989 he was able to publish openly in various newspapers such as Lidové noviny and was for a short time rector of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague .
He was a long-time friend of the former Czech President Václav Havel , who wrote about him in 2010: "For decades, before publication, I gave my texts to my lifelong friend and writer Zdeněk Urbánek for assessment. Zdeněk died before his time. They like what I do here wrote, appearing naive or downright stupid, but you know, the one responsible for this is the one who called Zdeněk to heaven and left me in the world without Zdeněk. "
Works
- Jitřenka smutku, 1939.
- Úžeh tmou, 1940.
- Příběh bledého dominika, 1941.
- Cestou za Quijotem, 1949.
- Ztracená země, 1992.
- Domy plné události, 1993.
- Zvláštní případy, 1993.
- Stvořitelé světa, 1995.
- Stvořitelé světa pokračují, 1996.
- Stvořitelé světa díl třetí, 1997.
- Stránky z deníků, 2003.
Web links
- Literature by and about Zdeněk Urbánek in the catalog of the German National Library
- Literature and other media by and about Zdeněk Urbánek in the catalog of the National Library of the Czech Republic
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/zdenek-urb225nek-writer-and-friend-of-v225clav-havel-857679.html
- ↑ Zdeněk Urbánek on the Yad Vashem website (English)
- ↑ Svět bez Zdeňka (written for Mladá fronta Dnes April 23, 2010), online at: www.vaclavhavel.cz (V. Havel's blog), Czech, accessed on August 5, 2011
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Urbánek, Zdeněk |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech writer, translator, university educator and signatory of Charter 77 |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 12, 1917 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prague |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 12, 2008 |
| Place of death | Prague |