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The Good Soldier Švejk

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Jan Vaněk was arguably the most obvious of all the prototypes of characters in The Good Soldier Švejk.

The Who's who page on Jaroslav Hašek presents a gallery of persons from real life who to a varying degree are associated with The Good Soldier Švejk and his creator. Several of the characters in the novel are known to be based on real-life people, mostly officers from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. Some of Hašek's literary figures carry the full names of their model, some are only thinly disguised and some names diverge from that of their "model", but they can be pinpointed by analyzing the circumstances in which they appear.

A handful of "prototypes" are easily recognisable like Rudolf Lukas and Jan Vaněk, others like Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj and Emanuél Michálek are less obvious inspirations. One would also assume that most of these characters borrow traits from more than one person, one such example is Švejk himself.

A far larger number of assumed prototypes are connected to their literary counterparts by little more than the name. Josef Švejk is here the prime example, but Jan Eybl also fits in this category. The list of prototypes only contains those who inspired characters that directly take part in the plot.

Researchers, the so-called Haškologists, are also included on this page but this list is per 15 June 2022 restricted to Radko Pytlík and two important but relatively unknown contributors to our knowledge about Hašek and Švejk. In due course entries on other experts like Václav Menger and Zdena Ančík will be added.


Strašlipka, František Jan
*19.2.1891 Hostivice - †21.9.1949 Veselí nad Lužnicí
Search Švejkův slovník
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Strašlipka in IR. 91

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Hašek's poem from 1915, a strong indication that Švejk's story-telling was inspired by Strašlipka

Strašlipka is often touted as the prototype of Švejk due to his position as Putzfleck (officer's servant) of Oberleutnant Rudolf Lukas in 1915. His story-telling, and the fact that Jaroslav Hašek knew him well underpins this hypothesis. Hašek even mentions him in the poem "In the reserve" from 1915, in a non-flattering way: "There is nothing worse than Strašlipka's old anecdotes".

Despite this important link between him and Švejk: the claim by writers like Jan Berwid-Buquoy and Pavel Gan that he more or less was identical to Hašek's good soldier carries little factual and logical substance. He definitely would have provided Jaroslav Hašek with a few traits and features for his literary creation, but the real and fictional pucflék's life stories only briefly run in parallel, and he is far from being as obvious a prototype as Jan Vaněk, Rudolf Lukas, Čeněk Sagner, Hans Bigler, Karl Schlager, Franz Wenzel, Josef Adamička, Ludvík Lacina, Jan Eybl and Jaroslav Hašek himself.

Strašlipka was the son of Jakob Strašlipka and wife Františka in Hostivice no. 82 (the village is now part of greater Prague, located near the airport). He had at least two sisters: Majdalena (1886), and Barbora (1888). He also had at least another sibling, Václav. Barbora was to prove an important witness for Zdeněk Matoušek in his series Kdo byl Josef Švejk (Who was Josef Švejk) in 1966[d].

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František Jan Strašlipka's birth record (and a note about his marriage). Discovered by Jaroslav Šerák on 14 August 2013.

The key source of information on Strašlipka is Jan Morávek's sixteen-part series about Hašek's time in k.u.k. Heer, published in Večerní České slovo in 1924[a]. Morávek however narrowed the focus down to the army, so little else was known about him until Zdeněk Matoušek provided two nearly identical articles that were published in Obrana lidu and Svoboda during the summer of 1966. They are based on interviews with relatives and friends of the former "pucflék" of Rudolf Lukas. The fact that the interviews took place many years after the events in question reduces the article's value as a source, but pulling in several witnesses to a degree offsets this shortcoming. The essence of the Matoušek series is reproduced by Jaroslav Šerák at svejkmuseum.cz[b].

A fanciful story
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Strašlipka recorded as officer's servant in IR. 91

© VÚA

An alternative (and extremely fanciful) version has been produced by Jan Berwid-Buquoy. With minor modifications the theory is contained in both his books on Jaroslav Hašek, and has recently appeared on-line in the magazine Reflex[c]. The account is partly based on the testimony of Václav Chalupa, reportedly a friend of Strašlipka. Here it is claimed that Strašlipka provided Jaroslav Hašek with the information he used in the first chapter of the novel, set at U kalicha, a pub Strašlipka allegedly visited regularly before the war. He was allegedly also the lover of a certain "bordel-mama" Marie Müllerová who is claimed to have been the model of Mrs. Müllerová.

Relying on one single witness (Chalupa) who provides second-hand information about events that took place some sixty years earlier gives the whole story an air of urban legend. No more convincing is the information that doesn't originate from Chalupa. Hardly a single "fact" in the article can be verified, and quite a few can be directly disproved by looking up address books, "matriky" and police registers.

In k.u.k. Heer
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Strašlipka's "Kriegsgefangenenkarte"

© ÖStA

Strašlipka was drafted into the army at the start of war in 1914, and presumably served with Lukas already in Serbia. If this assumption holds he had long stays in Budějovice in the autumn where Lukas was recuperating (and at times serving as an instructor) and again during the spring of 1915. In the meantime IR. 91 was transferred to the Carpathians and here the dates of transfer derived from army documents confirm that Strašlipka now served with Rudolf Lukas. He might have met Jaroslav Hašek already in Budějovice but this can not be confirmed and is unlikely.

When Lukas was appointed commander of the 4th march company of the XII. Marschbataillon of IR. 91 on 1 June 1915, Strašlipka would definitely have got in closer contact with Jaroslav Hašek, and thereafter the two and a certain Bohuslav Masopušt formed a "happy trinity". As the march battalion arrived at the front on 11 July, the 11. Feldkompanie company was re-formed with Rudolf Lukas as commander. Strašlipka took part in the battle by Sokal from 25 July, and was on 18 August awarded a bronze medal for bravery shown during the battle. On 24 September he suffered the same fate as Jaroslav Hašek; he was taken prisoner by the Russians. Reportedly he brought his master's provisions with him into captivity.[a]

Together with Jaroslav Hašek, Jan Vaněk and Hans Bigler, Strašlipka was decorated in the aftermath of the battle of Sokal. More details below.

Belohnungsantrag
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Belohnungsantrag, 6 August 1915

© ÖStA

Charge: Offiziersdiener. Vor- u. Zuname: Franz Straslipka.

Hat trotz verheerenden feindlichen Artillerie- und Infanteriefeuer am 26. 7. laufenden Jahres bei Poturzyce freiwillig an alle Teile der Kompanie wichtige Befehle des Kompaniekommandanten überbracht, hiedurch viel zum Erfolge beigetragen und hat beim Vorgehen zum Sturm auf die feindliche Sturmstellung seinem Kompaniekommandanten durch rechtzeitiges Zurufen, dass ein feindlicher Soldat aus der nächsten Nähe auf ihn anlegt, das Leben gerettet.

Steht seit Kriegsbeginn bis 8. 9., dann vom 14. 12. 1914 bis 13. 3. und seit 30. 6. als Offiziersdiener im Felde, ohne verwundet oder erkrankt zu sein.

Antrag: Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille 2. Klasse

Standort, am 6. August 1915.Transkription dank Doris & Gert Kerschbaumer

According to the Belohnungsantrag (application for reward) Strašlipka had volunteered for dangerous messenger tasks, despite heavy artillery- and rifle-fire, and had also saved his commander's (Rudolf Lukas) life by shouting out that an enemy soldier was aiming at him. He was never wounded or reported sick during his service with IR. 91. The dates of his service at the front correspond exactly to those of Lukas so we can safely assume that he was Lukas' servant during the whole period from the outbreak of war until Strašlipka was captured on 24 September 1915.

Thanks to his superior contracting pneumonia on the eve of the disastrous crossing attempt at the mouth of the Drina on 8 September 1914 he enjoyed a two month break before returning to active service on 14 Desember 1914 in Serbia. Then he would have taken part in the inglorious withdrawal from Serbia, had a break in Újfutak (now part of Novi Sad, Serbia) until 2 February 1915. On this cold winter day the regiment started the transfer to the Carpathians where they arrived on 7 February. During the next month they took part in fierce battles in unforgiving winter conditions in Východní Beskydy. On 13 March Rudolf Lukas reported sick again, and the pair only returned to front service on 30 June 1915 when the 12th march battalion left Királyhida for Galicia.

News from the sixties
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Strašlipka later in life

Matoušek's story mostly concentrates on the time after the capture. Unlike Jaroslav Hašek, Strašlipka never volunteered for the Czechoslovak Brigade (later known as "Legions"), and spent the time in Russian captivity as a labourer, as the vast majority of Czechs and Slovaks did.

During a prisoner exchange in April 1918 he was sent back to Austria-Hungary and again had to report for duty, this time at the front against Italy. Some time after he deserted and returned to Prague, but even here he was walking on hot coals. He and his brother Jan (interviewed by Matoušek) managed to get to the Ukrainian Volhynia province, now under German occupation. One of the places mentioned is Podhajcy, very close to Chorupan where Strašlipka was captured in 1915. In November 1918 he returned to Prague.

The route from Italy via Prague to Russia (simultaneously avoiding arrest) seems quite an adventure and raises some questions. According to the civil registry of Hostivice Strašlipka married Marie Burdová here on 16 April 1918, which is consistent with the timing of the prisoner's return after the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty between the Central Powers and Russland. At the time he was also recorded as a reservist in IR. 91. That he later was sent to Italy is possible, but if he had deserted he would likely have been reported as missing in the Verlustliste. That they tried to get back to Ukraine at a time when it was occupied by the German army also does not make much sense.

After the war Strašlipka reportedly met both Jaroslav Hašek and Rudolf Lukas again, the latter providing him with some financial assistance. He moved away from Hostivice, worked on the railways, mostly as a stoker, and seems to have made no use of the claim to fame as předloha (model) of one of the most famous fictional Czechs ever. For two years he was even co-owner of a pub. Strašlipka died in Veseli nad Lužnici at the age of 59. His grandson Bohuslav still lives there (2010).

Sources: Morávek, Zdeněk Matoušek, Jaroslav Šerák, Státní Oblastní Archiv Praha

Literature
References
aJaroslav Hašek - dobrý voják ŠvejkVečerní České Slovo - Jan Morávek1924
bFrantišek StrašlipkaJaroslav Šerák2018 - 2023
cOsudy záhadného hostince U kalicha aneb Jak to vlastně bylo doopravdy?ReflexJan Berwid-Buquoy2.5.2012
dKdo byl Josef Švejk I.Obrana liduZdeněk Matoušek30.7.1966

© 2008 - 2024 Jomar Hønsi Last updated: 16.3.2024