Franta Sauer was the seventh child out of eight, born from Jan Sauera and Barbora Sauerová. Born into poverty, his parents were illiterate. His mother worked as a maid and his father had many different jobs. Sauer failed the second year of middle school multiple times before attending a vocation school to become a locksmith. He returned to the Prague district Žižkov after his journeyman’s travels, where he lived with his mother and sister.
Politics
"Wild man of Žižkov"
Sauer was a member of the Social Democratic party for a short time before moving his political views towards anarchy. He was sued and imprisoned due to his conduct. Stories from František’s life appeared in the news frequently. In November 1918, Sauer organized the demolition of the Marian Column of Prague on the Old Town Square. Thereafter, in an article printed in the Rudé právo released on the 4th of November 1923, he officially confessed to the crime. During the trial, he told the jury that he did not want to damage the Column, but only remove it due to patriotic reasons. The trial in 1924 left him without any sanctions because the action he did was not barred. In the Žižkov, according to his own memory, he organized club Černá Ruka in 1918. This association moved people into classified apartments who previously had nowhere to live..
Protectorate and Liberation
At the end of the World War II, he was arrested for distributing publications by T. G. Masaryk. He was then relocated to Terezín and released in 1945 because he suffered from tuberculosis, which he later died from in 1947. Before his death, he made a general confession in the Franciscan monastery. He regretted the demolition of Marian Column and begged forgiveness from the priest. After being given the last rites, he died in the Pod Petřínem hospital. His spiritual evolution is mentioned in the poem Pražská legenda by Václav Renč.
František was a friend of Jaroslav Hašek, Vratislav Hugo Brunner, Josef Lada and Xena Longenová. During the years 1921-1922, together with Hašek, Sauer published the first paperback of The Good Soldier Švejk. Sauer raised enough funds to publish the first edition and, after obtaining funds from the sales, he persuaded Hašek to write the sequel.
Posthumous reminder
In the Prague district Žižkov there is a street named after him.
Work
František Sauer published under the pseudonym Fr. Habán, Franta Habán from the Žižkov or Franta Kysela as well. Between 1911–1935 Sauer was published in journals like České slovo, :cs:Právo_lidu|Právo lidu, Rudé právo or Trn.
