František Langer (1888–1965)

František Langer was born to a Jewish family in Prague, Czechoslovakia (then part of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire). His younger brother Jiří Langer became a Hebrew poet, scholar and teacher. František attended Czech schools and then studied medicine at Charles University. He published a collection of short stories and a few plays before volunteering as a physician in the Austrian army in World War I. After being taken prisoner by the Russians in 1916, he joined the volunteer Czechoslovak Legion, which fought the Communists in Siberia in the Russian civil war. In 1920, he returned to Prague, and became part of the literary scene there that included writers of Czech, German, and Jewish backgrounds. He was a member of the inner circle of intellectuals around Karel Čapek. During the interwar period, he became a successful playwright at the Vinohrady Theatre. He also was the medical superintendent of the Prague garrison hospital. Langer immigrated to France in July 1939 and worked as the head of the health service of the Czechoslovak army abroad, continuing in this capacity after the army was evacuated to the UK in 1940. He returned to his homeland after World War II, but the Communist Czech government did not allow him to publish his work until the 1950s. From 1946 to 1948, he headed the army medical corps, retiring in 1949 with the rank of general. He served for many years as chair of the Czechoslovak PEN club. His later works included Pražské legendy (Legends of Prague, 1956); his memoir of Czech cultural life between the wars, Byli a bylo (They Were and It Was, 1963), which includes a touching portrait of his brother Jiří; and Malířské povídky (Stories of Painting), published posthumously in 1966. Today he is considered one of the most significant and internationally famous Czech dramatists of the 20th century.