Memorial service for Czech civic activist tomorrow in Prague, event in her honor next week

Mourners will be able to pay their final respects to the late actress and civic activist Táňa Fischerová tomorrow, 8 January, in the the Great Ceremonial Hall of the Strašnice Crematorium in Prague. She passed away on 25 December 2019 at the age of 72.

In addition to acting, she also dedicated herself to charity and political activity for many years. She was active in civic associations and foundations, was a member of the lower house, and ran as an independent presidential candidate in 2013.

People will also be able to visit a remembrance site that her loved ones have created with the permission of the Prague 2 Municipal Department at the Church of St. Stephen. All who want to do so can light a candle there, Robin Čumpelík told the Czech News Agency on behalf of the deceased’s friends.

The remembrance site is located in the small park by the church on Na Rybníčku Street, which closes at night. There will also be an evening of remembrance that is being put together by her coworkers and friends.

That event will be held on 15 January at 19:00 in the Malostranská beseda venue, according to Jan Kačer, an actor and director who was a colleague of the deceased. She made her debut on the screen in 1961 under the direction of Vladimír Čech in the Czechoslovak drama “Kohout plaší smrt”.

She also performed in the films “Hotel pro cizince” (1966) (“Hotel for Strangers”), “Lev s bílou hřívou” (1986) and “Svědek umírajícího času” (1983). After 1989 she appeared in the television series “Konec velkých prázdnin” (1994).

For four years she performed with the Jiří Wolker Theater, which she left after the birth of her son, Kryštof. She had to come to terms with his disability and adapt her profession to her family situation.

She never again took up a permanent engagement with a theater company. She was a guest performer at different theaters and worked with Kačer and Evald Schorm.

In 2002, as an independent candidate on the list for the Freedom Union-DEU (Unie svobody-DEU) she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and worked there until 2006 on the Committee for Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Physical Education as well as on the Permanent Commission to Audit the Activity of the Security Information Services. In 2006 she ran in Prague 2 for the Czech Senate and made it into the second round of voting but was not ultimately chosen.

Her attempt at re-election to the Chamber of Deputies was also unsuccessful. In recent years she dedicated herself to charity work and was a much sought-after moderator and reciter at events of different kinds.

In 2013 she became chair of the Czech Helsinki Committee after the previous chair, Anna Šabatová, was elected the Public Defender of Rights, and she also was in the leadership of the Czech National Disability Council, a member of the Amnesty International organization in the Czech Republic, and a member of the board of directors of the Vize 97 Foundation. She also was a moderator of the annual television broadcasts of Advent Concerts along with Kačer and Marta Kubišová.

Poetry was her great love. For years she d it with those visiting the Viola Theater and the Lyra Pragensis performance series.

Her melodic voice seemed to have been created for lyric verse, and her readings were also frequently heard on the radio. She is the author of several books of poetry.

News server Romea.cz conducted an interview with her in 2012 during her presidential run. She expressed the view that politicians were succeeding in inciting those who are not succeeding in today’s society against those who are even worse off, an idea that still holds currency today.