Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie leaving Sarajevo Town Hall on 28 June 1914, five minutes before the
assassination.
The Good Soldier Švejk is a novel with an exceptionally rich array of characters. In addition to the many who directly form part of the
plot, numerous fictional and real people (and animals) are mentioned throughout the narrative, in Švejk's anecdotes,
or indirectly through words and expressions.
This web page contains brief write-ups on the people referenced in the novel, from Napoléon in the introduction to
Hauptmann Ságner in the final lines of the unfinished Part Four. The list is sorted according to the order in which the names first
appear. The chapter headings are taken from Zenny Sadlon's recent translation (1999-2024) and will, in most cases, differ
from Cecil Parrott's version from 1973.
The quotations in Czech are taken from the online version of The Good Soldier Švejk provided by Jaroslav Šerák and contain links to the relevant
chapter. The toolbar includes links for direct access to Wikipedia, Google Maps, Google Search, svejkmuseum.cz, and the novel online.
The names are colour-coded according to their role in the novel, as illustrated by the following examples:
Dr. Grünstein, a fictional character directly involved in the plot.
Fähnrich Dauerling, a fictional character who is not part of the plot.
Heinrich Heine, a historical person.
Note that many apparently fictional characters are inspired by real people. Examples include Oberleutnant Lukáš, Major Wenzl, and many
others. These are still listed as fictional because they are literary creations only partly inspired by their
similarly named 'models'.
Military ranks and other titles related to Austrian officialdom are given in German, in accordance with the terms
used at the time (explanations in English are provided as tooltips). This means that Captain Ságner is still
referred to as Hauptmann, although the term is now obsolete, having been replaced by Kapitän. Civilian titles
denoting profession, etc., are translated into English. This also applies to ranks in the nobility, at least where a
direct translation exists.
Saint Adalbert
is by the author mentioned as a crook who used the cross in one hand and the sword in the other to murder and exterminate the Baltic Slavs. The theme in this context is the institution of Field Mass.
Background
Saint Adalbert
(svatý Vojtěch) was a missionary, archbishop of Prague, martyr and saint who spread Christianity in several countries. He was killed during an attempt to convert the Baltic Prussians. After his death he became a patron saint of Bohemia, Poland, Prussia, and the archdiocese of Budapest-Esztergom. He was the founder of Břevnovský klášter.
Vojtěch and the Baltic Slavs
The narrator in The Good Soldier Švejk is rather imprecise when accusing Vojtěch of "murdering and exterminating Baltic Slavs". Vojtěch did indeed undertake a Christening expedition to areas by the Baltic Sea but his aim was the Baltic Prussians, a people related to Lithuanians and Latvians, and as such not Slavs. Moreover, he was killed already on his first mission[a] so he wouldn't have had much chance to "murder and exterminate" his victims, even if he had wanted to.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.11.1] Nic se nezměnilo od té doby, kdy loupežník Vojtěch, kterému přezděli „svatý“, účinkoval s mečem v jedné a křížem v druhé ruce při vraždění a vyhubení pobaltických Slovanů.
Literature
Vojtěch, Ottův slovník naučnýDíl 26. U – Vusín,1907[a]
Guillotin
(or rather the execution apparatus that carries his name) is mentioned by the author in connection with his description of execution- and field mass rituals.
Background
Guillotin
was a French doctor and politician who on 10 October 1789 in the National Assembly proposed a reform of capital punishment; applying the same method regardless of class, that the purpose was to end life quickly rather than torture etc. The result of the proposal was that development of a falling axe apparatus was started. From 1792 it was in regular use.
The guillotine is best known from the French Revolution where many prominent heads rolled. The apparatus was also used in Switzerland, and notoriously in Nazi Germany and occupied territories. In Austria-Hungary the official method of execution was hanging in Würgegalgen (gallows).
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.11.1] V Prusku vodil pastor ubožáka pod sekyru, v Rakousku katolický kněz k šibenici, ve Francii pod guilotinu, v Americe kněz na elektrickou stolici, ve Španělsku na židli, kde byl důmyslným způsobem uškrcen, a v Rusku bradatý pop revolucionáře atd.
Kolařík
was a pious retired teacher from Vršovice who had bought a couch from Feldkurat Katz and had given away the field altar that was hidden inside. He had believed that the altar was a divine gift which obliged him to donate it to the local parish. Katz and Švejk pointed out that the altar was military property and that handling it in such a dubious manner could have grave consequences. See Vršovice kostel.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.11.2] Ve Vršovicích v bytě pana učitele, starého nábožného pána, čekalo je nemilé překvapení. Naleznuv polní oltář v pohovce, starý pán domníval se, že je to nějaké řízení boží a daroval jej místnímu vršovickému kostelu do sakristie, vyhradiv si na druhé straně skládacího oltáře nápis: „Darováno ku cti a chvále boží p. Kolaříkem, učitelem v. v. Léta Páně 1914.“ Zastižen jsa ve spodním prádle, jevil velké rozpaky.
Pivoňka
was a man from Chotěboř who had got his hands on another man's property (in this case a cow) and subsequently suffered a grim fate. Švejk found it appropriate to relate this fact to the pious teacher Kolařík who had donated the field altar to the local parish. The fear-stricken old man finally grasped the gravity of the situation.
Background
Pivoňka is a name that appears in at least one of the short stories of Jaroslav Hašek. One of them was a Salvation Army captain who visited Pardubice, mentioned in Zápas s Armádou spásy[a]. Inspiration may also stem from the author's visit to Chotěboř in 1912, the outcome of which was the story Zrádce národa v Chotěboři.
Radko Pytlík writes that Pivoňka was a secretary at the tax collector's office in Chotěboř. He met Hašek in 1912 and the two visited a number of pubs together[d]. The source of this assertion is however unknown, and Jaroslav Šerák adds that no Pivoňka is registered in the birth and death records of Chotěboř between 1880 and 1929. He may of course have moved here, but that would be a theme for further research.
A more reliable and detailed story was provided by a specialist on the history of Vysočina. In late summer of 1912 Hašek visited Chotěboř for some weeks and went on a pubcrawl to Libice nad Dobravou with Jan Pivoňka, a secretary at the district administration (okresní hetjmanství). This is allegedly where the story about the cow originates from[c].
Svět zvířat
Pivoňka seems to be a name that Hašek employed several times because it appears at least once in Svět zvířat during his period as editor of the magazine. One example is a joke under the header The Merry Corner where some Pivoňka is the butt of the joke[b].
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.11.2] „Na útraty vojenského eráru, to se rozumí,“ řekl tvrdě a drsně Švejk, „zaplaťpánbůh za takový boží řízení. Nějakej Pivoňka z Chotěboře považoval jednou také za boží řízení, když se mu do rukou připletla ohlávka s cizí krávou.“
Credit: František Drašner, Radko Pytlík, Jaroslav Šerák
Witinger
was a senior lieutenant from Infanterieregiment Nr. 75 who had won the trophy that Feldkurat Katz borrowed for use as a chalice when giving field mass. The trophy was won by the officer years ago when he ran for Sport-Favorit. He was a good runner and boasted that he had run the 40 kilometre Vienna - Mödling stretch in 1 hour 48 minutes.
Background
Witinger is said to have belonged to Infanterieregiment Nr. 75, a unit that was located in Salzburg and Jindřichův Hradec in 1914. It would therefore have been rare to encounter officers from this regiment in Prague at the time. See Oberst Just.
The facts given in the novel with regards to distance and duration of his running are also way off. If Witinger's version was correct his time would have been much better than the current Marathon world record. See Mödling.
Witinger was not a common name in Prague at the time of our soldier, but the almost identical Wittinger was. Any inspiration for the name is therefore likely to be found among these.
No traces in k.u.k. Heer
There was no officer named Witinger in k.u.k. Heer in 1914, and only one Wittinger. He was a reserve lieutenant, Edmund Wittinger, enrolled in Traindivision Nr. 4 in Budapest. That this person had anything to do with the figure in The Good Soldier Švejk is improbable.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.11.2] Tak dostaneme sportovní pohár od nadporučíka Witingra od 75. pluku. On kdysi před lety běhal o závod a vyhrál jej za ,Sport-Favorit’. Byl to dobrý běžec. Dělal čtyřicet kilometrů Vídeň-Mödling za 1 hodinu 48 minut, jak se nám vždycky chlubí. Jsem hovado, že všechno odkládám na poslední chvíli. Proč jsem se, trouba, nepodíval do té pohovky.“
Dalton
is mentioned indirectly through the term daltonist (a person who suffers from colour blindness) when Feldkurat Katz's gory field altar is vividly described by the author.
Background
was a distinguished British scientist in physics and chemistry, also known for his research into colour blindness, which he suffered from. Daltonism has even become a byword for it in some languages, notably French and Spanish. It has also become a synonym in many more, among them Czech and English. Dalton spent almost his entire life in Manchester.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.11.2] Oltář skládal se ze tří dílů, opatřených hodně falešným pozlátkem, jako celá sláva církve svaté. Nebylo také možno zjistit bez fantasie, co vlastně představují obrazy namalované na těch třech dílech. Jisto je, že to byl oltář, kterého by mohli stejně používat nějací pohani na Zambezi či šamáni Burjatů i Mongolů. Opatřen řvavými barvami, vypadal zdáli jako barevné tabule určené pro zkoumání daltonistů na železné dráze.
czdeensv
SearchŠvejkův slovník
