Verdini: Czech magician escapes Nazi blitzkrieg three times, fights in the Battle of Britain...and joins E.N.S.A.
František Hladík (or Frank Hladík), known professionally as ' Verdini', was born near Tabor in Czec hoslovakia on 11 August, 1909. He discovered magic early in his life and joined a magic club run by Viktor Ponrepo, a Czech magician and a cinema pioneer. Making an impressive debut, Hladík performed his first professional engagement, 18-years old, at the Grand Theatre in his country's capital city, Prague. By 1939, Hladík was an established performer, with over a decade of experience as a comedy magician. When World War Two started, he was touring his native land, appearing in a cabaret show called Magic Lope . But, on 15 March of that year, Hitler's armed forces invaded Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler at Prague Castle, Czechoslovakia (Source: Public domain) In the weeks that followed the occupation, thousands of Czechs left their country, most of them escaping to neighbouring Poland. Czechoslovakia's politicians chose not to resist the German invasion, so most of