us-005578-irn556022
type: RecordSet
biographical history: Václav Kostelecký (1913-1982) was a Czech economist and distinguished Senior Executive of the United Nations. He spoke, read and wrote eight languages. From 1940-1945, Kostelecký was responsible for the establishment of the Economic Group of the Czechoslovak Textile and Clothing Industry and its administration in Bohemia and Moravia. Kostelecký actively defended the interests of Czech firms and Czech employees throughout the Nazi occupation. After World War II, he served as Chief Regional Representative for Europe in the United Nations Appeal for Children (UNAC) in Prague and successfully negotiated with countries of his region to establish National Committees. In 1948, he was appointed to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva, Switzerland. During his 29 years with the UN, Kostelecký assisted and advised on policy, management, legal and constitutional questions, had special responsibilities in the field of Energy, Industry and Operational Statistics, and carried out many missions to Governments. He devoted his professional life to all-European cooperation and to what he considered to be the ultimate criterion of all international cooperation: the usefulness for people in their day-to-day life of the practical results obtained. Václav Kostelecký was a connoisseur of modern art, a keen amateur photographer, skier and mountaineer, attaining many major European peaks including the Mont Blanc. In 1952, he married Enid Ethelwyn Rowe (British, d. 2012) and has two surviving children. Václav Kostelecký was a Czech who loved his country, even after his Czechoslovak passport was witheld by the communist government in Prague in 1952, and until his death, he travelled professionally and privately with a United Nations ‘Laissez-Passer’ granted by the General Secretary of the United Nations. Kostelecký always declared ‘I am born a Czech and I will die a Czech’. For further information, contact: UNOG - United Nations Office at Geneva: www.unog.ch/arch…
date: 1945, April 30-May 16
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 2
has or had some members with language: Silent
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn556022
note: The 8mm film canisters at NFA contain the handwritten notes about this film by Václav Kostelecký. He also donated his film camera and wartime photographs to the NFA.
scope and content: “Václav Kostelecký. Květnová revoluce 1945.” AGFA logo. Picture reportage from Prague at the end of WW2 filmed by Vaclav Kostelecky from April 30 to May 16, 1945. View of the Prague Castle from a hillside. Mr. Kostelecky inspects a camera. Prague Castle and the top of the Church of Saint Nicholas. Intertitle: “30. duben 1945” April 30, 1945 Prague Castle and a building, perhaps the former headquarters of the Wehrmacht (?). Czech police officer speaks with a German soldier. Street. Car. The Royal Castle. Pan, Prague rooftops, cloudy, the Nazi flag hanging on the castle. A military truck with soldiers. Rooftop view of the dome of the Church of Saint Nicholas. Three soldiers look out at the city. View of streets from tram. A truck in the street. Small poster: “Burgbesucher! Passanten!” followed by the Czech. Soldiers walk across a square. A man sits on a short ledge, sighs, takes his hat off, and wipes his forehead. A street sign: “Georgsgaffe JIRSKA IV.” Tower of the Basilica of Saint George. Street Sign “6. Historisch wertvoll Historicky cenné.” Directional signs “312 km Wien,” “Dresden 154 km.” A man sits on a horse-drawn wagon. Military trucks roll through the street. Directional signs “286 km Nürnberg,” “148 km Budweis Budějovice” INT soldiers in moving vehicles. Men ride bikes up the street towards a crowd outside of a building. “Run na poštu č.33 ve Slezské ulici.” The crowd is outside post office 33 on Silesian Street in Prague. Signs on the side of the building. People shove each other, trying to get inside. View of Wenceslas Square and the back of the equestrian statue of Wenceslas, from the steps of the National Museum. Trolley cars. People stand on the steps of the museum and smile at the camera. German soldiers fix a car. A large crowd on the street. Soldiers stand by a car. CU of license plate “Nd 9165.” Officers on a motorcycle and sidecar. “KORUNA” neon sign. Soldiers get their shoes waxed and shined. The Prague Astronomical Clock. Cars and horse-drawn …
title: Prague uprising, April-May 1945