A new Czech historical drama examining the legacy of World War II and its aftermath will reach international audiences this month. Gerta Schnirch, a two-part television film directed by Tomáš Mašín, premieres on HBO Max today after completing production in the Czech Republic last year.
Based on the award-winning novel Gerta (Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch) by Kateřina Tučková, the film follows the life of a woman from a Czech-German family whose personal story is shaped by the Nazi occupation, postwar reprisals and decades of unresolved collective trauma. The project brings together public broadcaster Czech Television, production company Negativ, HBO and Arte in an international coproduction.
The film debuts on HBO Max on Feb. 4, followed by a linear HBO broadcast on Feb. 8. Czech Television plans to air the two-part drama later this year.
Adapting a landmark Czech novel for the screen
First published in 2009, Tučková’s novel received the Magnesia Litera Award and has become a widely read literary examination of the forced expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II. The story is inspired by the so-called Brno death march, a mass expulsion that began in late May 1945 and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians due to exhaustion, hunger and disease.
Gerta Schnirch traces its protagonist from her childhood in wartime Brno through the violent postwar expulsions and into the social and political realities of the 1990s. Rather than focusing on historical events in isolation, the narrative centers on individual experience, memory and moral ambiguity.
The screenplay was co-written by Mašín alongside Alice Nellis and Ondřej Gabriel. Mašín, whose previous work includes Czech Oscar submission Brothers, has said the adaptation avoids simplified historical judgments in favor of an intimate portrayal of one woman’s life caught in the machinery of history.
The title role is played by Barbora Váchová, with Milena Steinmasslová portraying the character in later stages of her life. Supporting roles include Oskar Hes and Johann von Bülow. The filmmakers worked closely with historians and archival materials to maintain historical accuracy while grounding the story in personal perspective.
Production context and international reach
The two-part film was shot on location in the Czech Republic, with an emphasis on authentic settings rather than studio reconstruction. According to the producers, real locations played a key role in conveying the atmosphere of wartime and postwar Moravia, where much of the story unfolds.
The project reflects a broader trend in Czech television and film production toward historically grounded dramas with international distribution. In recent years, Czech-language series and films addressing complex historical subjects have found audiences beyond the domestic market through partnerships with global platforms.
HBO representatives have described Gerta Schnirch as part of a long-term effort to bring locally rooted European stories to a wider regional audience. The film will be available across Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, Hungary, Romania and several Adriatic countries.
For Czech Television, the project aligns with its public service mandate to address difficult chapters of Czech history while fostering public discussion. The broadcaster has emphasized the film’s focus on human dignity, empathy and the preservation of collective memory.
As Gerta Schnirch prepares for its HBO premiere, it joins a growing slate of Czech productions using international coproduction models to reach broader audiences, while continuing to draw on locally significant stories and literary source material.
