- published: 17 Sep 2013
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London i/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
Artur London (1 February 1915 – 8 November 1986) was a Czechoslovak communist politician and co-defendant in the Slánský Trial. He was born in Ostrava, Austria-Hungary to a Jewish family.
In 1937, London went to fight in the Spanish Civil War as member of the International Brigade. He moved to France after the defeat of the Republicans and, during World War II, was arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp. After the war he lived in Switzerland but soon moved with family to Prague, where he became a leading figure in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and was eventually nominated deputy minister of foreign affairs in 1948. In 1951 he was arrested and became a co-defendant in the Slánský trial alongside Rudolf Slánský. London was accused of being a Zionist, Trotskyite and Titoist and sentenced to life in prison, but released in 1955 and rehabilitated in 1963.
He moved to France, with his wife, where the couple wrote L'Aveu (The Confession) about his ordeal in the Prague Trials. While the main defendants were senior to London, he gained prominence worldwide by writing the book. The book was made into a film directed by Costa-Gavras, starring Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. His wife, Lise, narrated the documentary A Trial in Prague, dir. Zuzana Justman (2002, 83min).
Actors: François Marthouret (actor), Henri Marteau (actor), Jacques Marbeuf (actor), Guy Mairesse (actor), Jean Lescot (actor), Marc Eyraud (actor), Maurice Jacquemont (actor), Gabriele Ferzetti (actor), Marcel Cuvelier (actor), Gérard Darrieu (actor), Jean Bouise (actor), André Falcon (actor), Vasilis Diamantopoulos (actor), Michel Beaune (actor), Pierre Moncorbier (actor),
Plot: Anton Ludvik, aka Gerard, is vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. He realizes he is watched and followed. One day, he is arrested and put into jail, in solitary confinement. Will be shown the mental tortures during the investigations and how a faithful top-ranking civil servant is made to confess to treason. Based on the true story of Czechoslovakian communist Artur London, this is not an anticommunist film but a plea against totalitaism.
Keywords: based-on-book, communism, communist, czechoslovakia, torture