Arts Singer and songwriter Karel Hasler was born 125 years ago
Every Czech knows the tune. "Ta nase pisnicka ceska" or "That Czech Song of Ours" was voted one of the ten greatest hits of the 20th century in a poll conducted by Czech Radio in 2000.
Karel Hasler, photo: CTK
Its author and singer, Karel Hasler, was born 125 years ago this month in
Prague. After a brief acting career at the National Theatre, Karel Hasler
became a popular cabaret actor and singer. He wrote and sang songs about
the beauties of Prague and also about social and political issues.
Overall, he composed around 300 songs and he also appeared in a number of
films in the 1920s and 1930s. In one of them he sang "Ta nase
pisnicka ceska" - a song which eventually became his death
sentence.
After the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Karel Hasler wrote sarcastic
anti-German lyrics to it. A colleague turned him in to the Gestapo and the
62-year-old Hasler was taken to the concentration camp in Mauthausen where
he died a cruel death in 1941.
Haslerky
This Wednesday, a special concert featuring Karel Hasler's songs, many of
which became almost national anthems, was held in Prague. Not only is he
remembered for his songs and films but Karel Hasler's name to this day
survives in the popular liquorice sweets Haslerky. Karel Hasler, who had a
hoarse voice, closed a deal with the producer of these supposedly
medicinal
candies, and he named them after him.
