The Second Life of Master Jan Hus: Jan Hus at the Turn of the Millennium

Can one contribute to the topic of Jan Hus with something new even 600 years after his burning? The historian Pavel Helan and the documentary filmmaker Petra Nesvacilova are of opinion that it is possible because Jan Hus actually lived more than one life. The second life of this ecclesiastical reformer began at the moment of his death at the stake in Constance in 1415. It was at this point that Hus became representative and a symbol of the Hussite period for both his followers and other supporters as well as for his dissenters. In a six‑ part infotainment series entitled The Second Life of Master Jan Hus, created by Czech Television, the filmmakers explore how the view of Master Jan Hus has been changing Czech history. Over the course of many centuries, Hus had been given various names, such as arch‑ heretic, criminal, a symbol of Czech patriotism or a model revolutionary. Each regime and every era adjusted Hus to its own image. The Czech Television series is not only a mere testimony to Jan Hus, but also has an interest in terms of media manipulation and the attitudinal changes of the Czechs to religion, politics and culture. (Academia Film Olomouc)