Elena Lacková
Elena Lacková (née Elena Doktorová; also known as Ilona Lacková; 22 March 1921 – 1 January 2003) was a Slovak Romani writer and playwright, author of literature for Roma children and youth.
Also recorded as Elena Lackova · Elena Doktorová
Elena Lacková

Universita Karlova v Praze / Charles University in Prague · https: contentDo=urn:nbn:sk:cair-do3tbgx · Public domain
- Birth Name
- Elena Doktorová
- Born
- 22 March 1921
- Birthplace
- Veľký Šariš, Czechoslovakia
- Died
- 1 January 2003
- Place of death
- Košice, Slovakia
- Occupation
- Writer
- Spouse
- Jozef Lacko
- Awards
- Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 3rd class
- Nationality
- Slovakia.
- Education
- Charles University.
- Honours
- Ľudovít Štúr Order 3rd class.
- Languages
- Romani.
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Documentary summary
Elena Lacková (née Elena Doktorová; also known as Ilona Lacková; 22 March 1921 – 1 January 2003) was a Slovak Romani writer and playwright, author of literature for Roma children and youth.
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Note VALÉORINE
Elena Lacková (1921–2003) was a Slovak playwright, poet and writer. The playwright died in Košice. Elena Lacková studied at Charles University.
Languages used include Romani. The playwright received Ľudovít Štúr Order 3rd class.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q3512494 · wikipedia · Elena Lacková
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Elena Doktorová • Born — 22 March 1921 • Birthplace — Veľký Šariš, Czechoslovakia • Died — 1 January 2003 • Place of death — Košice, Slovakia • Occupation — Writer • Language — Romani • Alma Mater — Charles University • Spouse — Jozef Lacko • Children — 6 • Relatives — Alžbeta Ferencová (granddaughter) • Awards — Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 3rd class
Life and works
Life and works
Elena Lacková was born in Veľký Šariš, the first of five children of the Roma fiddler Mikuláš Doktor and a Polish mother. She has been interested in literature since early childhood and began writing at the age of 14. Her poem London – Paris – Veľký Šariš was broadcast on the radio. After attending elementary school, Elena Lacková continued her education in the nearby town of Prešov from 1932 to 1935. In 1939 she wrote her first play called The Transplanted Flower, which, however, was not allowed to be performed. She married Jozef Lacko, with whom she had six children, one died during World War II. Her wartime experiences are among the central themes of her works. In 1948 she wrote the play Horiaci cigánsky tábor (A Burning Gypsy Camp), which she rehearsed with people from the settlement where she lived at the time. After the press of the time reported on it, the actors and actresses were invited by the Ministry of Social Affairs in Prague to perform the play in the border areas of the Czech lands, to which many Roma had been resettled from Slovakia. In 1951, Elena Lacková began her work in the Regional People's Committee, where she looked after Roma. In 1960 she started working at the District Pedagogical House in Košice. In 1964, while working at the Faculty of Education and Journalism at Charles University in Prague, she graduated as the officially first professing Romni in Slovakia in 1970 at the age of 49 and became a co-founder of the Cultural Association of Gypsy Roma in Prešov After graduation, she worked for two years as a teacher and social worker in Ústí nad Labem, then as a social curator in eastern Slovakia. Her granddaughter is the actress Alžbeta Ferencová. After 1989, Lacková became the president of the Cultural Association of Gypsy Roma and was the editor of the magazine Romano ľil. In 1993, Elena Lacková became a member of the Slovak Writers' Union. For her contribution to the development of the cultural-social life of the Roma in Slovakia, on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic in 2001, the President of the Republic Rudolf Schuster awarded her the Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 3rd Class. On the occasion of her 80th birthday, she was awarded the Chatam Sofer Memorial Medal for her services to the documentation of the consequences of the Roma Holocaust.
Death
Death
Elena Lacková died on New Year's Eve 2003 at the age of 82 in a retirement home in Košice, where she had spent the last years of her life. On her last journey, on Saturday 4 January 2003, she was accompanied by more than 200 people, and among the mourning bouquets was one from Slovak President Rudolf Schuster.
Works
Works
Sources: • 1935: London – Paris – Veľký Šariš, Poems • 1946: Horiaci cigánsky tábor, divadelní hra/ A Burning Gypsy Camp Stage play • 1952: Nový život/New Life, Stage play • 1955: Rómské srdce/Heart of the Roma, Stage play • 1988: Žužika, Radio drama • 1992: Rómske rozprávky – Romane paramisa, bilingual book • 1994: Veľký primáš Baro" / Baro primašis Baro, Hrbatý Maren (Short stories) • 1997: Narodila jsem se pod šťastnou hvězdou – Autobiography. (English ed."A false dawn 2000) • 2003: Husle s tromi srdcami / Lavuta trine jilenaca/ Violine mit 3 Herzen, – Short stories
Novellas
Novellas
• Život vo vetre/Leben im Wind • O mule na aven pale/Mŕvi sa nevracajú/Die Toten kehren nicht zurück • Primáš Bari
Read also
Read also
• Portréty – Elena Lacková. 1997. In: Romano džaniben 4 (1997), vol. 1–2, 69–87. • Hübschmannová, Milena. 2001. Osmdesáté narozeniny Ilony Lackové: Uľiľom tel a bachtali čercheň. In: Romano džaniben 8 (2001), vol. 1–2, 12–27. • Donert, Celia. 2017. The Rights of the Roma. The Struggle for Citizenship in Postwar Czechoslovakia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Elena Lackova and Elena Doktorová. Her recorded language was Romani.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1921
Elena Lacková born.
2003
Elena Lacková died at Košice.
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Elena Lacková received Ľudovít Štúr Order 3rd class.
Honors
• Czech Radio Award (1989) • Prix Bohemia Award (1989) • Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 3rd Class, awarded by President Rudolf Schuster (2001) • Chatam Sofer Memorial Medal (2001)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Erika Thurner, Elisabeth Hussl, Beate Eder-Jordan. Roma und Travellers. Identitäten im Wandel. Mit einem Vorwort von Karl-Markus Gauß.
- 2.Elena Lacková.
- 3.Elena Lacková – Životopis autora.
- 4.Mgr. Elena Lacková.
- 5.Lacková, Elena: Narodila jsem se pod šťastnou hvězdou.
- 6.Bella, Vitalia. Alžbeta "Zea" Ferencová: Iveta mala byť ešte drzejšia. No ako by som sa mohla s niekým biť, keď ani neviem zvýšiť hlas?. Denník N. 25 January 2023.
- 7.Obituary: Ilona Lackova. the Guardian. 14 February 2003.
- 8.Lacková, Elena Doml.
References
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Elena Lacková studied at Charles University.
The recorded source classes are reference work. Every statement above restates one of those records; where they are silent, this article is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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