Verdini: Czech magician escapes Nazi blitzkrieg three times, fights in the Battle of Britain...and joins E.N.S.A.
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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 Ger...