Langer, František
LANGER, FRANTIŠEK
LANGER, FRANTIŠEK (1888–1965), Czech playwright, novelist, and physician. Langer was born in Prague. His first play, Svatý Václav ("St. Wenceslas," 1912), was staged by the Prague National Theater before he was 23. An officer in the Austrian army in World War i, Langer was taken prisoner by the Russians and subsequently joined the Czech Legion formed by Thomas Masaryk. Langer belonged to Masaryk's Pátečníci ("Friday Group"), the statesman's circle of closest friends, and was deeply influenced by Masaryk's humanistic philosophy. Other influences apparent in his writing are his Russian experiences and the human suffering with which he came into daily contact as an army doctor. He eventually became head of the Czechoslovak Army Medical Corps. Escaping to France from Nazi-occupied Prague in 1939, Langer fled to London after the fall of Paris, but returned to his own country after World War ii. For many years he was president of the Czechoslovak pen Club, representing his country at various international literary congresses.
Langer was a fine storyteller with a penetrating insight into human problems. His novels and collections of short stories incude Zlatá Venuše ("Golden Venus," 1911), Železný vlk ("Iron Wolf," 1920), Předměstské povídky ("Suburb Stories," 1926), Děti a dýka ("Children and the Dagger," 1943), and Filatelistické povidky ("Philatelist Stories," 1964). He is, however, best known as the outstanding Czech playwright next to Čapek. His best-known plays are the drama Periferie ("Outskirts," 1925) and the comedy Velbloud uchem jehly (1923; The Camel through the Needle's Eye, 1929); both were translated into many languages, and, in the stage versions of Max *Reinhardt, were international successes. Langer's other stage successes were Noc ("Night," 1922), Anděle mezi námi ("Angels Among Us," on the problem of euthanasia, 1931), Dvaasedmdesátka ("Number 72," 1937), and Jiskra v popelu ("Spark in Ashes," 1948); in the last two, the truth is revealed through the technique of a play within a play. Two charming and successful comedies were Grand Hotel Nevada (1927) and Obrácení Ferdyše Pištory ("The Conversion of Ferdyš Pištora," 1929). Bronzová rapsódie ("Rhapsody in Bronze," 1962), Langer's last play, is a poetic allegory about war and peace with an ancient Greek setting. Many of his plays were adapted for the screen. Filatelistické povídky ("Stamp Collector Stories," 1965) was published in the year of his death and Malířské povídky ("Painter Stories," 1966) posthumously. The European Holocaust shocked Langer into a new awareness of his Jewish identity, as may be seen in the chapter dedicated to his late brother, Jiří Mordechai *Langer, in a postwar book of reminiscences entitled Byli a bylo ("There Were and There Was," 1963, 1971, 1991). This chapter, "Můj bratr Jiří" ("My Brother Jiří") is the introduction to Jiří Langer's book, Devět bran (1937, 1990; Nine Gates, 1961). Langer's literary work appeared rarely during the Communist era. From 2000 his collected works began to be published (in 15 volumes).
bibliography:
P. Váša and A. Gregor, Katechismus dějinčeské literatury (1925); O. Donath, Židé a židovství v české literatuře 19. a 20. století (1930); B. Václavek, Česká literatura xx. století (1935); J. Kunc, Slovník českých spisovatelů beletristů (1957); Hostovský, in: Jews of Czechoslovakia (1967), 440f. add. bibliography: František Langer na prahu nového tisíciletí (2000); Slovník českých spisovatelů (2000); Lexikon české literatury 2/ii (1985).
[Avigdor Dagan /
Milos Pojar (2nd ed.)]