The true stories of three women, of different ages and nationalities, whose lives were affected by work camps during World War II.
Comics
‘Totální nasazení’ (total deployment) or ‘Totaleinsatz’ in German, was a term for forced labour during the World War II German occupation of Czechoslovakia. This comics, by three pairs of authors and illustrators, presents distinct stories about three women. Helena, Jarmila and Franciska’s lives are connected by forced labour. Helena, who was born into a Czech Jewish family in Ukraine, escapes from a labour camp and is constantly on the run. Jarmila signs up to work for the Nazis voluntarily, as she was cooperating with the resistance movement. She hopes that she can hide there from the Gestapo. Franciska was born shortly before the end of the war to a Polish mother and Czech father, who fell in love in a labour camp in Germany. After the war ends, she spends most of her childhood in communist orphanages. The different styles of the three artists complement the stories. Karel Osoha’s illustrations shift abruptly between cold muted browns and purples when Helena is on the run, and brighter colours as she recalls her life before the war. Tomáš Kučerovský’s dynamic use of close-ups and text-less panels add a new dimension to Jarmila’s story, that readers can find familiar. Petra Josefina Stibitzová’s fragile, almost child-like pencil and crayon drawings reflect Franciska’s parentless childhood. This comics is produced in cooperation with Post Bellum, an organisation which aims to increase public knowledge of Czech 20th Century history.
About the authors:
Ondřej Nezbeda (1979) is a journalist and author. From 2007–2014, he was an editor of the Respekt weekly magazine. Nezbeda has also worked as a meteorological observer, hospice carer and television dramaturge. In 2016, he published his first book, Průvodce smrtelníka (A Mortal’s Guide), about care for the dying, which won the Magnesia Litera Award for Discovery of the Year.
Tomáš Hodan (1980) is a screenwriter and director. In 2002, he graduated from the Zlín Film School and since then has written and directed a number of awardwinning short and feature-length films. As a documentary filmmaker, he has filmed in Angola, Afghanistan, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus. Since 2014, he has been writing scripts for the popular satirical series, Kancelář Blaník (Blaník Office), loosely inspired by the British comedy series The Thick of It.
Petra Soukupová (1982) is a prose writer, screenwriter and dramaturge. So far, she has published five books for adults and two for children. She also writes short stories. Soukupová’s bestselling books have received a number of awards and have been translated into seven languages. Preparations are underway for a film based on her short story, Na krátko (Cut Short), with a planned release date in 2018. As a screenwriter, Soukupová worked on the successful sitcom, Comeback (2008–2010), and the satirical series, Kosmo (2016). Her books have sold close to 90,000 copies.
