Tenth Sokol Congress 1938; Suzi's fourteenth birthday
Creator(s)
- Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Steffi Guttman (Subject)
- Sylvie Guttmannova (Subject)
- Zuzana Guttmannova (Subject)
- František Stein (Camera Operator)
Biographical History
Franticek (Frantzi) Stein is the sister of Steffi (Stein) Guttmann. Frantzi and his wife Mitzi did not survive the Holocaust,
Zuzanna (Suzi) Guttmannova was born on August 4, 1925. She lived in Prague at Vězeňská 9 and was deported to Terezin on May 7, 1942. She was transported to Sobibor on Transport AAi on June 13, 1942 and murdered.
Sylvie Guttmannova was born on April 7, 1929. She lived in Prague at Vězeňská 9. Sylvie kept a diary in the years 1941-1942, when she was aged 12 - 13, until her deportation with her family to the Terezin ghetto on May 7, 1942. From there she was sent one month later to the Sobibor death camp, from which she did not return. Also on that transport were her sister, Zuzana, and their parents, Simon (b. 16 February 1888) and Stepanka (b. 10 June 1895).
Štěpánka (Steffi) Gutmann (nee Stein) was born on June 10, 1895. Steffi lived in Prague at Vězeňská 9 and was deported to Terezin on May 7, 1942. She was transported to Sobibor on Transport AAi on June 13, 1942 and murdered.
Scope and Content
Kodak Safety Film logo. Continuation from RG-60.7180 (no leading title card) with scenes of the 10th Sokol Congress in Prague. Athletic meet and calisthenic performance in a gigantic stadium. Simon Guttmann and family attend the big event, seated in the stadium at 01:18:47. Performance and spectators. 01:22:16 Title card: “Středoškolské hry 1938” More stadium demonstrators and coordinated exercises. Czechoslovak flags line the stadium. 01:25:17 Guttmann family in the stands. Airplanes. Spectators clap and wave flags. 01:26:36 Title card: “Sokolský průvod 1938” Procession in Prague city streets. Many gather to watch the parade, hanging out of apartment windows, waving flags, decorated streets. Business sign on building, “Slovanska Poistovna”. The marchers in the street, and man with hand-held movie camera filming at 01:27:08. More paraders, massive crowds. 01:31:03 Title card ”Bechyně I. 1938” Shop in resort village of Bechyně. 01:31:10 Steffi, Suzi, Sylvie, and another woman walk towards the camera on a sidewalk. The girls play in the grassy yard. Sylvie practices swimming with an instructor in a row-boat. Suzi and a teenage girl relax in the grass and take turns jumping in the lake. A man dives in. The family practices tennis with an instructor. 01:33:40 Celebrating Suzi’s fourteenth birthday on August 4. Family and girlfriends bring her flowers, presents, and cake. She receives a photo camera from an older man in light-colored suit (Simon?). They eat the sweets and Suzi practices with her new camera. Hosing off outdoors in the garden. Suzi paddles a kayak. Logo: Foto-Kino Wachtl Praha. End 01:35:18
Note(s)
The filmmaker alternated among turret lenses rendering different exposures. There were burn holes at the end of the final scene, serious scratches on both the film base and the emulsion, and a lot of embedded dirt that could not be removed through careful hand cleaning.
Refer to: RG-60.6994 for a different film of this parade.The Sokol movement is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of "a strong mind in a sound body". The Sokol, through lectures, discussions, and group outings provided physical, moral, and intellectual training for the nation. The movement also spread across all the regions populated by Slavic cultures. Though officially an institution "above politics", the Sokol played an important part in the development of Czech nationalism, providing a forum for the spread of mass-based nationalist ideologies. Articles published in the Sokol journal, lectures held in the Sokol libraries, and theatrical performances at the massive gymnastic festivals (called slets) helped to craft and disseminate the Czech nationalist mythology and version of history. For more information about the Jewish-owned Foto-Kino Wachtl Praha, refer to https://www.holocaust.cz/dejiny/lide/obeti/od-cisel-k-pribehum/foto-kino-wachtl/ Sylvie kept a diary from the ages of 12-13 beginning on September 9, 1941 until her deportation with her family to the Terezin ghetto on May 7, 1942. From there she was sent one month later to the Sobibor death camp, from which she did not return. The diary was kept safe by a Krasnohorska school classmate of Sylvie's sister, Zuzana. The diary is now preserved by the Ghetto Fighters' House in Israel with translations in English available online and in the SSFVA files.
Subjects
- CALISTHENICS
- JEWISH LIFE (PRE-WAR)
- CAMERAS
- VACATIONS
- STADIUMS
- SUMMER
- CZECHOSLOVAKIA
- PARADES
- FAMILIES
- BIRTHDAYS
- CITIES
- FLAGS
- JEWS
- CROWDS
- DEMONSTRATIONS
- ATHLETES
- AIRPLANES
Places
- Bechyně, Czechoslovakia
- Prague, Czechoslovakia
Genre
- Film
- Amateur.