Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie leave the Sarajevo Town Hall on 28 June 1914, five minutes before the
assassination.
The Good Soldier Švejk is a novel with an unusually rich array of characters. In addition to the many who directly form part of the
plot, many fictional and real people (and animals) are mentioned through the narrative, Švejk's
anecdotes, or indirectly through words and expressions.
This web page contains short write-ups on the people the novel refers to, from Napoléon in the
introduction to Hauptmann Ságner in the last few lines of the unfinished Part Four. The list is sorted in the order in which the
names first appear. The chapter headlines are from Zenny Sadlon's recent translation (1999-2024) and will, in most cases,
differ from Cecil Parrott's version from 1973.
The quotes in Czech are copied from the online version of The Good Soldier Švejk provided by Jaroslav Šerák and contain links to the relevant
chapter. The toolbar has links for direct access to Wikipedia, Google Maps, Google search, svejkmuseum.cz and the novel online.
The names are coloured according to their role in the novel, illustrated by the following examples:
Dr. Grünstein, as a fictional character directly involved in the plot.
Fähnrich Dauerling, as a fictional character who is not part of the plot.
Heinrich Heine as a historical person.
Note that living persons inspire many seemingly fictional characters. Examples are Oberleutnant Lukáš, Major Wenzl and
many others. These are still listed as fictional because they are literary creations that are only partly inspired by
their like-sounding "models".
Military ranks and other titles related to Austrian officialdom are given in German and in line 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to as Hauptmann, although the term is now obsolete, having been replaced by Kapitän.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 goes for ranks in the nobility, at least where a direct
translation exists.
Kristian
was the subject of one of Švejk's anecdotes when escorted from Mariánská kasárna to Budějovické nádraží when the regiment was transferred to Bruck an der Leitha - Királyhida. He was a waiter, son of an Abyssinian king who had been exhibited in a circus at Štvanice and who had fornicated with a lady who wrote poems for the Lada magazine and thus had given birth to Kristian.
Background
Kristian
(KristianEbenezer) was a rare black waiter who worked at Café Louvre, Hotel Baška, Café Royal, at the station restaurant in Brno - and various places in the countryside.
Egon Erwin Kisch wrote in Prager Tagblatt about a chance meeting with Kristian in a hotel in Trenčianske Teplice in 1921 where the latter worked as a waiter[a]. Eduard Bass, another acquaintance of Hašek, also wrote about Kristian who he knew from Prague and Brno. Bass even provided an obituary for Lidové noviny[b].
Augustin Knesl mentions Kristian in the series "Švejk a ti druzí" (Švejk and the others)[e] but somewhat naively concludes that Hašek's description of him was precise. Knesl had evidently not registered that Kristian was from the Caribbean and thus could not have been the son of an Abyssinian king.
Hašek had also mentioned Kristian many years before he wrote The Good Soldier Švejk. Exatly when the story Silvestr pana Pažana was first published is not known but it appeared in a Czech-Amerian paper in 1915[d] so it was probably written in 1914 or in early 1915.
Danish citizen
Ebenezer was born in the Danish colony St.Croix in the Carribean. His mother tongue was Danish but already as a teenager he spoke English fluently.
Kristian is actually the only Nordic citizen who is mentioned by name in The Good Soldier Švejk. It is possible that the mysterious psychologist Doctor Kallerson is a distortion of e.g. Karl Larsson.
To Prague
As a 14-year-old he arrived in Prague together with engineers from the Daňkovka factory. He was a waiter apprentice at the newly established Café Louvre where he worked for several years. He became a well-known character in Prague and learned Czech exceptionally quickly.
Already in 1905 he is mentioned in the newspapers and during the following year his name appeared several times. In 1916 he was to marry BoženaHanušová from Mladá Boleslav but the bride somehow disappeared, and the story ended in the newspapers. He even became an ardent Czech nationalist and caused distaste amongst Germans. Eduard Bass even called him a chauvinist[b]. Already in 1909 the socialdemocrat satirical magazine Kopřivy associated him with Klofáč and his Česká strana národně sociální. Here it is also revealed that he still worked at Louvre[c].
Poor health and early death
Throughout his life he was plagued by poor health. He had problems walking and also suffered from tuberculosis, a disease that in the end proved fatal. Shortly before he died he married the same woman who had vanished in 1916. His last address was Vinohrady, Puchmajerova 56. It is now known if he had any offspring and nor do we know if he did military service.
Egon Erwin Kisch (1921)
Also stehe ich auf, nachdem ich genug Zeit gewonnen habe, und gehe ins Vorderzimmer und setze mich zu einem Tischen und lasse mir vom Neger Christian (ja, ja, dem aus dem Café Louvre und aus dem Café Parlament eine Schale Schwarzen bringen und lese die Blätter.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „S tím vzájemným pářením,“ poznamenal Švejk, „je to vůbec zajímavá věc. V Praze je číšník černoch Kristián, jehož otec byl habešským králem a dal se ukazovat v Praze na Štvanici v jednom cirku.
[II.3] „Případ vašeho černocha Kristiána,“ řekl jednoroční dobrovolník, „třeba promyslit i ze stanoviska válečného. Dejme tomu, že toho černocha odvedli. Je Pražák, tak patří k 28. regimentu. Přece jste slyšel, že dvacátý osmý přešel k Rusům. Jak by se asi Rusové divili, kdyby zajali i černocha Kristiána. Ruské noviny by jistě psaly, že Rakousko žene do války svá koloniální vojska, kterých nemá, že Rakousko sáhlo už k černošským reservám.“
Credit: Egon Erwin Kisch, Hans-Peter Laqueur, Jaroslav Šerák, Augustin Knesl, Eduard Bass, Café Louvre
Discussing with Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek, Švejk imagines the eventuality that a man marries and the wife suddenly gives birth to a black child. Given that she nine months ago attended a wrestling match at Varieté where one of the competitors was black, her husband could start to imagine things.
Background
There is no doubt that the black man who Švejk imagines was wrestling at Varieté refers to Chambers Zipps, a North-American wrestler who by all accounts spent periods of his life in Europe. In April 1912 he fought several matches at Varieté and even the adverts from the theatre itself refers to him as the "negro-wrestler Zipps"[a].
One could argue that other black wrestlers may have appeared at Varieté during Hašek's lifetime, but the author himself actually puts to rest any uncertainty regarding his source of inspiration. Only a few days after the wrestling tournament finished he published a story where Zipps was the main character. Here Jaroslav Hašek mentions the matches at Varieté and many other details[b]. During a visit at U Brejšky the narrator was unfortunate enough to step on giant negro's sore toe... The theme Zipps and Varieté also appears in another story that Hašek wrote at the time[f] but here he mentioned it only in passing.
Horses and wrestling
Zipps initially worked as a horse-keeper for the wealthy American racehorse owner/breeder/trainer Eugene Leigh (1860-1937) who in 1901 relocated to Europe (Wikipedia). In 1906 Zipps' name started to appear in French newspapers in connection with Greco-Roman wrestling. Already then one of the news items described him as "the famous negro Zipps"[c].
At the end of October 1906 he took part in the World Championship (there were two competing tournaments at the time) at Folies Bergère in Paris and this event was widely reported, also in the foreign press. Czech newspapers wrote that he had defeated the Czech Šmejkal and that Zipps himself weighed 110 kilos[d].
In his homeland his achievements were also noticed and it was added that he had been a successful amateur wrestler, and was so strong that he could carry a horse on his shoulders[e].
He continued to compete across Europe and during the years until 1915[g] he took part in tournaments in France, England, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Russia[1]. From the tournament in Moscow in 1912 there even exists a video clip[i]. In 1915 he toured Russia but thereafter he disappeared from the news for the rest of the war.
In 1919 a wrestler named John Zipps (also a black American) appeared in news reports but it is unclear if this is the same person. The latest recorded newspaper notice about any wrestler Zipps is from 1927[h].
Zipps was described in sympathetic terms in both the Czech and Austro-German press. He was reportedly a joker and often entertained the public when he was performing. We know nothing about when and where he was born/died and the only point of reference is information in the French sports press that he was young when he arrived in France. It is therefore tempting to suggest that he was born between 1880 and 1890.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Ale najednou v nějakém kolenu že se vobjeví černoch. Představte si ten malér. Vy se voženíte s nějakou slečnou. Potvora je úplně bílá, a najednou vám porodí černocha. A jestli před devíti měsíci se šla podívat bez vás do Varieté na atletické zápasy, kde vystupoval nějakej černoch, tu myslím, že by vám to přeci jen trochu vrtalo hlavou.“
Lacina is mentioned 10 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Lacina
was a fat and gluttonous military cleric from Kavalleriedivision Nr. 7 who also enjoyed a tipple or two. He arrived in Budějovice the day before Ersatzbataillon IR. 91 left for Bruck and travelled with Švejk and Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek in the arrest wagon. On departure, he was under the influence and soon fell asleep and was snoring and farting most of the way. The author notes that Lacina wore a "black hard hat", indicating that he was off duty. This is also how the illustrator of The Good Soldier Švejk, Josef Lada, envisaged him.
Background
The senior field chaplain was undoubtedly inspired by Ludvík Lacina, a Roman-Catholic field chaplain who served in k.u.k. Heer from 1906 to 1918. The obituaries from 1928 reveal that he had been "identified" as a model for the literary field chaplain already before his death[a].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Tak vešli na nádraží a šli k určenému vojenskému vlaku, když málem by byla ostrostřelecká kapela, jejíž kapelník byl vážně popleten nečekanou manifestací, spustila „Zachovej nám, Hospodine“. Naštěstí v pravé chvíli objevil se v černém tvrdém klobouku vrchní polní kurát páter Lacina od 7. jízdecké divise a počal dělat pořádek.
[II.3] „A to taky pojedu,“ prohlásil páter Lacina, a otáčeje se po eskortě, dodal: „Kdo říká, že nemůžu ject? Vorwärts! Marsch!„
Když se vrchní polní kurát ocitl v arestantském vagoně, položil se na lavici a dobrosrdečný Švejk svlékl si plášť a položil ho páterovi Lacinovi pod hlavu, k čemuž k uděšenému desátníkovi poznamenal tiše jednoroční dobrovolník: „Obrfeldkuráty ošetřovati.“
Páter Lacina, pohodlně natažen na lavici, počal vykládat: „Ragout s hříbkami, pánové, je tím lepší, čím je víc hříbků, ale hříbky se musí napřed smažit na cibulce a pak teprve se přidá bobkový list a cibule...“
„Cibuli už jste ráčil dát předem,“ ozval se jednoroční dobrovolník, provázen zoufalým pohledem desátníka, který viděl v páterovi Lacinovi opilého sice, ale přece jen svého představeného.
Situace desátníka byla opravdu zoufalá.
„Ano,“ podotkl Švejk, „pan obrfeldkurát má ouplnou pravdu. Čím víc cibule, tím lepší. V Pakoměřicích bejval sládek a ten dával i do piva cibuli, poněvadž prej cibule táhne žízeň. Cibule je vůbec náramně prospěšná věc. Pečená cibule se dává i na nežidy...“
Páter Lacina zatím na lavici mluvil polohlasně, jako ve snění: „Všechno záleží na koření, jaké koření se do toho dá a v jakém množství. Nic se nesmí přepepřit, přepaprikovat...“
[II.3] Švejk přistoupil k páteru Lacinovi, obrátil ho ke stěně a znalecky řekl: "Ten bude chrnět až do Brucku," a vrátil se na své místo, provázen zoufalým pohledem nešťastného desátníka, který poznamenal: "Abych to šel snad oznámit".
[II.3] A vy,“ obrátil se na Švejka, „vy půjdete do kuchyně naší mináže, vezmete příbor a přinesete mně oběd. Řekněte, že to je pro pana obrfeldkuráta Lacinu. Hleďte, abyste dostal dvojnásobnou porci. Jestli budou knedlíky, tak neberte od špičky, na tom se jenom prodělá. Potom přinesete mně z kuchyně láhev vína a vezmete s sebou esšálek, aby vám do něho nalili rumu.“
Přednosta stanice v Budějovicích
(the stationmaster in Budějovice) is mentioned in connectio with Feldoberkurat Lacina when the regimenet was departing from Budějovice to Királyhida. The officers from the regiment hid in the station master's office when they got a whiff of the drunk field chaplain.
Background
Accoring to the address book from 1915 the two station masters at Budějovické nádraží in 1915 were Johann Hellmich and Josef Schwarz. Head of the railway authorities in the city was Karl von Fodermayer[a].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Ráno dostal nápad, že musí dělat pořádek při odjezdu prvních ešalonů regimentu, a proto se potloukal po celé délce špalíru, účinkoval na nádraží tak, že důstojníci řídící dopravu pluku uzavřeli se před ním v kanceláři přednosty stanice.
Muhammad went to the montain and meet the angel Gabriel.
Muḥammad
is pulled into the plot when Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek ridicules the Korporal guards the prisoners on the train to Bruck. The famous proverb he quotes is 'If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain'.
Background
Muḥammad
was an Arab political and religious leader. In the history of religion he counts as the founder of the Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of Allāh. The name has many transliterations in English. The mountain in the proverb that Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek quotes refers to Jabal an-Nûr an-Nûr by Mekka, where in the cave HiraMuḥammad met the angel Gabriel (according to legend).
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Milý pane kaprále,“ ozval se jednoroční dobrovolník, „papíry nejdou samy k veliteli eskorty. Když hora nejde k Mahomedovi, musí jít velitel eskorty sám pro papíry. Vy jste se nyní ocitl před novou situací.
Ladislav Hájek is mentioned 6 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Ladislav Hájek
enters the plot when Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek relates his experiences as editor of Svět zvířat. He was Marek's predecessor in the job.
Hájek is mentioned again in by Švejk in [III.1], now with his full name. Švejk told Oberleutnant Lukáš he had a mongrel dog sold to the only Czech author he knew, "some Ladislav Hájek from Domažlice". This was at the time when the latter was editor of Svět zvířat.
His final appearance in The Good Soldier Švejk is in [III.3]. Again, his full name is used, even with his add-on "Domažlický" (from Domažlice) included. The theme now is his role as editor of Nezávislost in Poděbrady.
Background
Ladislav Hájek
was a journalist, poet, writer, and publisher, originally from Domažlice. He was a lifelong friend of Hašek and one of only two amongst Hašek's friends who is mentioned by name in The Good Soldier Švejk (the other one was painter Panuška).
Importantly, Hájek wrote a biography on Jaroslav Hašek in 1925[a], a book that by far is the most reliable source that exists about Hašek's time at Svět zvířat (1908-1910 and 1912-1913). It also sheds light on other peirods ofHAS's life, such as his student years and the year leading up to the outbreak of war.
Česká lyra,1918
The two met as students at Českoslovanská akademie obchodní in Prague in 1901[a] and together they published the poetry collection Májové výkřiky (The Cries of May) in 1903[f]. Hájek had already 1901 published a collection of poems called "Noci", where he used the pseudonym L. H. Domažlický[l]. From 1902 onwards, he published short stories in various magazines using the pseudonym Domažlický. Amongst the magazines who printed his stories between 1902 and 1907 were Illustrovaný svět, Besedy lidu, Národní listy, Světozor, Hlas lidu and even the two U.S. newspapers Svoboda and Dennice novověku.
An unstable existence
After finishing his studies in 1903, he moved back to Domažlice, where he started as a trainee with a savings bank. Sometime in the autumn of 1904, Hašek stayed for about three weeks with the Hájek family in Domažlice. The future author of The Good Soldier Švejk was returning home from his wanderings in Bavaria, dressed in rags and looking like a tramp. During this stay, Hašek even held talks about his wanderings in Germany. Back in Prague, he wrote a story about his stay in Domažlice[m].
In the coming winter, Hájek returned to Prague, where he wanted to make a living as a writer and journalist, and during this time, he saw Hašek a lot and, for a period, even lived in the family's flat in Vinohrady[a]. From a career perspective, his stay was, however, a failure and ended when he obtained a job as an editor somewhere in east Bohemia.
Western Bohemia and military service
From around June 1905 Hájek edited the National Social weekly Naše snahy in Plzeň. He was active in Česká strana národně sociální and held talks at their meetings. After that, he started his military service in Lemberg as a one-year volunteer [g], where he presumably served from 1 October 1906 onwards. Later, he published a collection of stories from his time as a soldier in Galicia[k]. Many of these were also printed in Venkov during 1908 and 1909. From 1908, he started publishing using his real name, dropping Domažlický.
Svět zvířat, 1908-1909
Hájek settled in Prague after finishing his military service (autumn 1907). Early in 1908, he was hired as editor of Svět zvířat where his first signed story was published in no. 209, dated 15 February 1908. He contributed many stories to the magazine and also some poems, mostly signed only L. H. He also translated and adapted fiction from English and French, indicating he had some command of these languages.
Hájek describes how Hašek betrayed him.
Ladislav Hájek,1925
His life at the journal was complicated by his affection for the daughter of Václav Fuchs, the journal's owner and chief editor. Žofie Fuchsová was at the time only fourteen, but her father didn't object, rather the opposite. He saw in Hájek the future owner of his publishing and animal trading enterprise and tried to tie his young editor closer to the family business. Sometime in 1908, he moved into the villa above Klamovka where Svět zvířat was located, and he also had to accompany his boss on business trips to Prague, but he would rather stay home with Fuchs's daughter. This felt too intrusive for Hájek, so he had repeated arguments with his employer. Nor did it help that some influential person at the enterprise disliked him and actively undermined him[a].
Involving Hašek
The final trace of Hájek's first period as editor.
Svět zvířat,1.1.1909
Hájek and Hašek had kept in touch and at the time of the Vinohrady by-elections (20 November 1908) the two again stumbled across each other. Hašek wore wrecked shoes and admitted that he had nowhere to sleep, so Hájek took pity on him and invited him to stay at the villa Svět zvířat. Hašek told him that he wanted to escape the wretched life that he was living and offered to help edit the journal, provided he could stay there. The magazine owner and chief editor, Fuchs, agreed, and Hájek and Hašek worked together for Svět zvířat for some weeks. Hájek's last signed story in Svět zvířat was printed in no. 258, dated 15 December 1908. The story was called "Foxl" and was about a fox terrier. The same story was printed in Venkov on 21 December 1908.
Soon, another row between Václav Fuchs and Hájek erupted, and the young editor resigned in anger. Hájek had hoped that Hašek would follow him out of the door in solidarity, but instead, the "traitor" Hašek took over his job! This may have happened in January 1909 as Hašek was registered with domicile at Svět zvířat from 4 February 1909. On 1 January, an advert revealed his address as Bělohorská silnice 908, the address of Svět zvířat. In 1909, he hardly contributed to the magazine, indicating that his departure happened very soon after the turn of the year. The only item he signed in Svět zvířat that year was a poem on the front page of the New Year issue.
Unemployment and gramophones
Apart from the information provided by Hašek in a letter to his future wife Jarmila[d], we have little information about Hájek's undertakings during the rest of 1909. According to Hašek, Hájek had problems finding a permanent job, but by July 1909, he was employed by Diego Fuchs, a brother of Václav Fuchs, and owner of a gramophone factory at Václavské náměstí. In the letter, Hašek is quite derogatory in his tone, claiming that editors wouldn't touch Hájek with a bargepole. This included the editor of Venkov (Nečásek), a strange claim because Hájek had at least eight stories published in this newspaper in 1909. Hašek also claimed that it was on his initiative that Hájek landed the job at the gramophone factory, having persuaded Fuchs to put in a word for him with Diego Fuchs. Hašek also added that Hájek finally had come to terms with his fate.
Poděbrady, 1910
Presumably, he continued to work for the gramophone factory, but by the end of the year, a new opportunity arose, albeit not in Prague. On 1 January 1910, the weekly Nezávislost started in Poděbrady, and Hájek was employed as its first chief editor. He contributed actively to the newspaper and was also involved in other activities. On 26 June 1910, he officially opened an exhibition in the town. The event was reported in Svět zvířat, indicating that Hájek and Hašek were still in touch.
However, developments at Svět zvířat in the end caused Hajek's early return to Prague. The reason was that Fuchs was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Hašek's work at Svět zvířat. He decided to get rid of his wayward editor and drove to Poděbrady to beg his former understudy to return. He gave Hájek an ultimatum: "Either you come back, or you will not be allowed to see my daughter again!" Exactly when this happened is not known, but a good guess is August 1910 because Hájek noted that Hašek hung on for a few months before he decided to leave [a].
The last known contribution to Svět zvířat by Hašek is 15 October 1910 and on 1 November Hájek is again editor of Svět zvířat. On 19 November he is no longer listed as editor of Nezávislost - the new editor was Václav Volenec.
Svět zvířat, 1910-1916
In September 1911 Václav Fuchs died and Hájek took over his role as publisher and chief editor of Svět zvířat. On 5 October 1912, he married Žofie Fuchsová, the daughter of the late Fuchs. After getting married, the couple moved to a flat in Ferdinandova třída no. 339, which also functioned as the editorial office of Svět zvířat[c]. Hájek now became the owner of the journal, in effect his wife probably inherited it. In January 1912, he introduced a supplement called Svět (The World) with no particular focus on animals. From October 1912, it was split off from the mother magazine but remained in Hájek's hand. In Ferdinandova, Hašek celebrated Christmas 1912 together with the young couple and also functioned as co-editor of both Svět zvířat and Svět until at least May 1913.
Poděbrady 1913
Žofie Hájková, Ladislav Hájek, Jaroslav Hašek.
Lázně Poděbrady,21.5.1913
In 1913, Hájek edited a supplement to Nezávislost called Lázně Poděbrady, and Jaroslav Hašek contributed a couple of stories to this magazine. On 21 May 1913, it also printed a well-known picture featuring Hašek and Hájek together with other members of Strana mírného pokroku v mezích zákona[e]. The assignment in Poděbrady was temporary, and simultaneously, Hájek continued to publish Svět zvířat and Svět.
Hájek and Hašek still frequently met, but Hašek was no longer involved with Svět zvířat. After doing a good job initially, Hašek again started to neglect his duties, and Hájek edited the magazines himself.
Wartime and a personal tragedy
His career as editor was interrupted by the war, and in 1916, he was called up and served at the Italian front, unknown with which regiment. After the war, he was struck by a personal tragedy. According to Břetislav Hůla, his first wife committed suicide, and Hájek then married Milena, a lady who was still alive in 1948[y]. The research of Jaroslav Šerák confirms that his wife, Žofie, shot herself in 1919.
In 1921, Hájek met Hašek a couple of times in Prague and again at Lipnice in December 1921, this time by pure chance. They corresponded a few times more before Hašek passed away on 3 January 1923.
Later years
Lidové noviny,28.3.1943
On 1 May 1922 Hájek moved to Olomouc[i] where he started to work for Československý denník (listed as editor from 12 July). He stayed in Olomouc until 1 January 1924, and then he returned to Prague to work as an editor for Reforma, a newspaper that later was renamed Národní střed. At the same time, he edited Nový večerník, and he was involved in both newspapers at least until 1934[h], and for Národní střed at least until 1939. That year he was also decorated for the second time by the Yugoslav state[i].
Hájek seems to have spent the rest of his life in the Czechoslovak capital, where he died in 1943.
Legacy
It would be unfair to claim that Hájek is known solely because of his friendship with Jaroslav Hašek, but it goes a long way. From this viewpoint, his legacy consists of the small book (already mentioned) that he published in 1925[a]. It provides invaluable details about Hašek's life, particularly regarding his time at Svět zvířat.
Obituaries reveal that he was a prolific writer also in the inter-war years, and his publications covered a variety of themes.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jak jsem se vlastně stal kdysi redaktorem ,Světa zvířat’, onoho velice zajímavého časopisu, bylo pro mne nějaký čas hádankou dosti složitou do té doby, kdy jsem sám přišel k tomu názoru, že jsem to mohl provést jen ve stavu naprosto nepříčetném, ve kterém jsem byl sveden přátelskou láskou ku starému kamarádovi Hájkovi, který redigoval do té doby poctivě časopis, ale zamiloval se přitom do dcerušky majitele časopisu pana Fuchse, který ho vyhnal na hodinu pod tou podmínkou, že mu zaopatří redaktora pořádného. Jak vidíte, byly tenkrát podivuhodné námezdní poměry. Majitel listu, když jsem mu byl představen svým kamarádem Hájkem, přijal mne velice vlídně a otázal se mne, zdali mám vůbec nějaké ponětí o zvířatech, a byl velice spokojen mou odpovědí, že jsem si vždy velice zvířat vážil a viděl v nich přechod ke člověku a že zejména se stanoviska ochrany zvířat respektoval jsem vždy jejich tužby a přání. Každé zvíře si nic jiného nepřeje, než aby bylo před tím, než je sněděno, usmrceno pokud možno bezbolestně.
[III.1] „Namouduši, pane obrlajtnant,“ řekl Švejk s výrazem mučedníka, „já žádnýho německýho spisovatele osobně neznám. Já jsem znal jenom jednoho českýho spisovatele osobně, nějakýho Hájka Ladislava z Domažlic. Von byl redaktorem ,Světa zvířat’ a já mu jednou prodal takovýho voříška za čistokrevnýho špice.
[III.3] Na všechny to působilo ohromným dojmem, a když poručík Dub mlčel, ozval se Švejk: „Poslušně hlásím, pane lajtnant, že s takovým nočníkem byla jednou pěkná legrace v lázních Poděbradech. Vo tom se u nás vypravovalo na Vinohradech v hospodě. Tenkrát totiž začali vydávat v Poděbradech časopejsek ,Nezávislost’ a poděbradskej lekárník byl toho hlavní hlavou, a redaktorem tam udělali ňákýho Ladislava Hájka Domažlickýho. A ten pan lekárník, to vám byl takovej podivín, že sbíral starý hrnce a jiný takový drobotiny, až byl samej museum. A von si jednou, ten Hájek Domažlickej, pozval na návštěvu do poděbradskejch lázní jednoho kamaráda, kterej taky psal do novin, a vožrali se tam spolu, poněvadž se už přes tejden neviděli, a ten mu slíbil, že mu za to pohoštění napíše fejton do tý ,Nezávislosti’, do toho nezávislýho časopisu, ve kterejm von byl vodvislej. A von mu ten jeho kamarád napsal takovej fejton vo takovým jednom sběrateli, jak našel v písku na břehu Labe starej nočník plechovej a myslel, že to přilbice svatýho Václava, a udělal s tím takovej rozruch, že se tam na to přijel podívat biskup Brynych z Hradce s procesím a s korouhvema. Ten lekárník poděbradskej myslil, že to padá na něho, a tak byli vobá, von a ten pan Hájek, ve při.“.
Fuchs
is mentioned by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek when he on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida relates his experiences as editor of the magazine Svět zvířat. Fuchs owned the magazine, and the former editor, Ladislav Hájek, fell in love with his daughter. The father disapproved and instead employed Marek as editor when he, in a convincing manner, presented his plans for the magazine. In due course, the new-baked editor lets his imagination get the upper hand and invents new animals and other curiosities from nature. Eventually, this raised the attention of the readers and culminated when Jos. M. Kadlčák, the editor of Selský obzor, used an editorial to put Marek in his place because he took the liberty to rename the jay to "walnutter". This was the final straw, and Fuchs was so agitated that he crept under a pool table, and three days later, he died from meningitis.
Background
Fuchs
(born SiegfriedFuchs) was a Czech animal breeder, kennel owner and publisher/editor of Jewish origin. He is best known as the owner and publisher of the magazine Svět zvířat, and it is in this context his name is known to readers of The Good Soldier Švejk.
Renowned expert
His name appears in national newspapers from 1894 onwards. Initially, he was often mentioned in connection with rabbit breeding, and at the time, he was based in Jičín. He offered rabbits for sale in Prager Tagblatt, Prager Abendblatt, Das interessante Blatt and others.
In connection with the international agricultural fair in Prague in 1897, Wiener Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung from 19 May 1897 mentions him as "the renowned rabbit breeder from Jičín". During the same exhibition, he won an award in the poultry category. In May 1898, he was a member of a society's executive committee that arranged a poultry exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Emperor's reign. In 1899, he co-founded the Country Association for Breeding of Luxury Dogs in Bohemia and acted as manager.
Antisemitism
Fuchs won several awards for contributing to rabbit, poultry, and dog breeding. According to some newspapers, he was 1908 even awarded Kaiserlicher Rat (an honorary title without much practical significance). The announcement caused some reactions, mainly in the Catholic press. According to Salzburger Kronik, "he did not deserve it", and Čech lamented that "yet another Jew had received the award". Similar antisemitic writing was common in Czech and German newspapers at the time. Still, the newspapers were probably wrong regarding the award itself. In a death notice about his father, 9 March 1909, only the brother Ludvík uses the title Kaiserlicher Rat, and Václav is simply listed as editor-in-chief of Svět zvířat.
Publisher, author and dog breeder
Wiener Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung,20.11.1897
During the autumn of 1897, the monthly magazine Svět zvířat was launched in Jičín. Initially, Fuchs was not alone in running the magazine, but the next year, he bought a large villa above Klamovka Park and moved there with his family. He also relocated the editorial offices here, and the magazine became bi-weekly.
From now on, he was the sole proprietor, and the villa also housed his dog breeding and trading enterprise. Fuchs diligently advertised the dog trade and the magazine in the newspapers. As publisher of a Czech language magazine, he targeted Czech readers. Still, his dog trade was also advertised intensively in German newspapers like Prager Tagblatt and Bohemia, often using the brand Hundepark Fuchs. See Psinec nad Klamovkou for more about the breeding kennel.
Fuchs also wrote the books Všecky druhy psů slovem i obrazem (All dog breeds in words and pictures) (1903), Všeobecný slovník rad pro každého (General encyclopedia with advice for everyone) (1906). The latter was a heavy publication of nearly 1400 pages, but the scope extends well beyond the subject of animals. That said, he was first and foremost known as chief editor and dog breeder.
Fuchs and Hašek
Svět zvířat,15.8.1910
In early 1908, Fuchs employed a new editor, Jaroslav Hašek's friend Ladislav Hájek. It was through this connection that Hašek was introduced to Klamovka and the animal magazine towards the end of the year. Initially, he only assisted in the editorial offices, but Hájek fell out with his boss and quit. Hašek was now offered the editor position (he was registered as a villa resident on 4 February 1909), and initially, it worked out well. The job was well paid (it also included 2 litres of beer per day) and made Hašek capable of feeding a family, and he married on 23 May 1910.
The newlywed moved out of the villa and down to Smíchov nr. 1125 below the Klamovka park. According to Ladislav Hájek, the enthusiasm that Fuchs initially showed for his inventive editor now waned seriously. Hašek was less seen in the editorial offices, and readers started complaining about dubious articles. In his predicament, Fuchs travelled to Poděbrady to convince Hájek to return to the office to replace Hašek. He succeeded in his mission, and in the issue of Svět zvířat from 15 October 1910, Hájek was again listed as chief editor.
Through his alter ego, Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek, Hašek did a lot to make Fuchs and Svět zvířat known to future generations. Not only does he mention the magazine and its owner in The Good Soldier Švejk, but Fuchs is also mentioned in Strana mírného pokroku v mezích zákona. If Fuchs is presented in a matter-of-fact way in the novel, the less he is in the story of the Party of Moderate Progress where he is the victim of a resounding shit packet.
The now deceased publisher and kennel owner allegedly "had himself baptised to promote his business", made a living from animals and people, was a terrible employer and not particularly intelligent, shouted and swore, was good at appearing as someone he wasn't. Overall, he was fully qualified for a career as a politician. The books that Fuchs published in 1903 and 1906 are claimed to have been directly translated from German and carried out by the then editor of the magazine, Karel Ladislav Kukla. Hašek also claimed that Fuchs was a Young Czech (see Mladočeši) and had borrowed money to buy a car.
Hájek narrates
Z mých vzpomínek na Jaroslava Haška, Ladislav Hájek,1925
A person who knew Fuchs well was Ladislav Hájek, who, in two periods, edited his magazine. Hájek describes his boss as a good man but nervous by nature. He had identified the young writer and editor as a suitable husband for his daughter Žofie and someone who could eventually manage Svět zvířat. All his wishes were fulfilled only after Fuchs's death. Otherwise, Hájek writes that his boss was too eager to entangle him in the management of the enterprise and frequently pulled him off to Prague when he'd rather spend time with Žofie. This led to the mentioned fall-out that resulted in Hájek resigning, and he was even prohibited from seeing Žofie. Their relationship was only repaired when Fuchs, in the autumn of 1910, became exasperated by Hašek's irregular appearance in the office and his dubious contributions and travelled to Poděbrady to beg Hájek to return[b]
Family relations
Národní listy, 9.3.1909
SiegfriedFuchs was born as the first of seven siblings in Hořice (okresJičín), son of Abraham (1830-1909) and Elenora, neé Kohn (1833-1907). In 1882, he abandoned the Mosaic faith and was now registered without confession. On 17 October 1882, he married Marie Chválovská (born 1861, Roman Catholic) in a non-religious ceremony in Jičín. The name Václav is not registered in the birth or marriage records, so he must have changed his first name after 1882. The couple had three children: Marie(1885), Žofie (1894) and Václav (1895).
Venkov,28.9.1911
The family was from 26 December 1898, listed with address Smíchov No. 908, which corresponded to villa Svět zvířat above Klamovka. The parents (father Abraham now called himself Vojtěch/Adalbert) and the youngest brother Diego moved there simultaneously. They remained for around six months, but the father moved back in 1908 after becoming widowed.
By 1909, the six remaining siblings enjoyed a solid middle-class existence (Anna had passed away). The brother Diego (1876-1941) owned a known gramophone- and instrument factory at Václavské náměstí, Ludvík managed a sugar factory, Evžen ran an antique trade, Alois was a tradesman, and Marie married a lawyer. The daughter Žofie married Ladislav Hájek on 5 October 1912. At the time, he was the editor of Svět zvířat and, from 1913, owner and publisher of the magazine.
Fuchs passed away at only 54 years old, and several newspapers printed notices about his death. The immediate cause was arteriosclerosis and cardiac arrest, the body was cremated in Zittau in Germany, just across the border with Bohemia (at the time Austria did not permit cremation). Editor Ladislav Hájek wrote the obituary in Svět zvířat[a].
Jaroslav Šerák
V matrikách narozených farnost Hořice jsem žádného Fuchse neobjevil. Žádný Fuchs není ani v indexu. Takže Fuchs se jako židovské dítě asi narodil, ale později se víry vzdal, protože jsem objevil zápis o sňatku a tam je uveden jako Siegfried a bez náboženství. Manželka Marie Chválovská byla katolička, tak možná později přistoupil ke křesťanství. Sňatek měli jen úřední, světský, nikoliv církevní. Neměl to s náboženstvím lehké. Je to vidět na těch antisemitských výpadech v novinách. Proto asi volil pohřeb žehem, aby nebyl pohřben ani jako křesťan, ani jako žid. Také sedí v záznamu o sňatku i datum narození 14.3 .1857.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jak jsem se vlastně stal kdysi redaktorem ,Světa zvířat’, onoho velice zajímavého časopisu, bylo pro mne nějaký čas hádankou dosti složitou do té doby, kdy jsem sám přišel k tomu názoru, že jsem to mohl provést jen ve stavu naprosto nepříčetném, ve kterém jsem byl sveden přátelskou láskou ku starému kamarádovi Hájkovi, který redigoval do té doby poctivě časopis, ale zamiloval se přitom do dcerušky majitele časopisu pana Fuchse, který ho vyhnal na hodinu pod tou podmínkou, že mu zaopatří redaktora pořádného.
[II.3] ,Kvíčale se má říkat jalovečník nebo jalovice, pane šéf,` podotkl jsem, ,poněvadž se živí jalovcem.` Pan Fuchs uhodil novinami o stůl a vlezl pod kulečník, chroptě ze sebe poslední slova, která přečetl: ,Turdus, kolohříbek. - Žádná sojka,` řval pod kulečníkem, ,ořešník, koušu, pánové!` Byl konečně vytažen a na třetí den skonal v rodinném kruhu na mozkovou chřipku.
Fuchsová
is mentioned indirectly by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek when he, on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida, relates his experiences as editor of the magazine Svět zvířat. She is referred to as the daughter of the magazine's owner, Mr. Fuchs.
Background
Žofie Fuchsová was a daughter of Václav Fuchs, the owner and chief editor of Svět zvířat. She was born in 1894[a], presumably in Jičín, and was only four when the family moved to Klamovka, where her father managed Svět zvířat and the associated kennel.
In 1908, she got acquainted with Ladislav Hájek, then editor of the magazine, and on 5 October 1912, the two married in the church Svatý Václav in Smíchov[c].
Soon after the wedding, the young couple moved to Ferdinandova třída (now Národní) from where her husband published the magazine. For a period, Hašek also stayed with them, and according to Ladislav Hájek, she was fond of the future author of The Good Soldier Švejk[b]. Little is known about her life after that but according to Břetislav Hůla, she committed suicide "years ago"[d].
Research by Jaroslav Šerák confirms that she shot herself in the head on 4 October 1919. She was only 25 years old when she died. We don't know if the couple had any children.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jak jsem se vlastně stal kdysi redaktorem ,Světa zvířat’, onoho velice zajímavého časopisu, bylo pro mne nějaký čas hádankou dosti složitou do té doby, kdy jsem sám přišel k tomu názoru, že jsem to mohl provést jen ve stavu naprosto nepříčetném, ve kterém jsem byl sveden přátelskou láskou ku starému kamarádovi Hájkovi, který redigoval do té doby poctivě časopis, ale zamiloval se přitom do dcerušky majitele časopisu pana Fuchse, který ho vyhnal na hodinu pod tou podmínkou, že mu zaopatří redaktora pořádného.
Credit: Jaroslav Šerák, Ladislav Hájek, Břetislav Hůla
Brehm is mentioned 8 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Brehm
enters the plot when Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek relates his experiences from his time as editor of Svět zvířat. All the references to Brehm in The Good Soldier Švejk pertain to his magnum opus Brehm's Life of Animals rather than his person.
Brehm
was a prominent German zoologist, explorer and writer. His name became a synonym for popular zoological literature through the multi-volume reference work Brehms Tierleben (Brehm's Life of Animals). Brehm was the son of a distinguished ornithologist, and already, as an 18-year-old, he took part in an expedition to Egypt and the upper Nile (1847-1852), and later he undertook expeditions to Spain, Norway and Siberia. He published books about his expeditions and also went on tours where he lectured about his travels and discoveries. From 1862 to 1867, he was the director of the zoo in Hamburg, and later, he founded the well-known aquarium in Berlin, where he remained until 1874.
Brehms Tierleben
It was, however, his publishing of the zoological reference work which made him famous. The first edition, containing six volumes, was published from 1864 to 1869 with the title Illustrirtes Tierleben. From 1876 to 1879, the second edition followed, expanded to 10 volumes, with new illustrations and now titled Brehms Thierleben[1]. Mammals and birds were described in three volumes, and fish, insects, reptiles and invertebrates in one volume each. The volumes contained 1945 illustrations[a].
The 2nd edition was translated into many languages. The first translation into Czech was published from 1882 to 1990 by publisher Otto. Various translators were involved, including Doctor Bayer, who translated the volume on fish and other maritime animals. The third edition was printed from 1890 to 1893 and was the first that appeared after Brehm's death. The differences from the 2nd edition were relatively few. This edition was translated into Czech and is still published by Otto.
Garrulus glandarius
A central part of Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's polemics with Jos. M. Kadlčák is the jay (garrulus glandarius), a bird in the raven family that lives on the Eurasian continent. Marek is remarkably precise when he refers to page 452, because in Brehms Tierleben, volume 4, this is indeed the page where the description of jays starts (3rd edition German version). This strongly indicates that Hašek based the details in The Good Soldier Švejk on the German original and not a Czech translation where it is unlikely that the description is on that very page. The bird itself is pictured on page 454. Whether Hašek had "Brehm" available when he wrote this passage at Lipnice or simply remembered such details is open to speculation but given his unusually good memory even the latter would be no surprise...
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Vtom mne přerušil a optal se, zdali znám drůbežnictví: psy, králíky, včelařství, rozmanitosti ze světa zvířat, vystřihovat z cizích žurnálů obrázky k reprodukci, překládat z cizozemských žurnálů odborné články o zvířatech, umím-li listovat v Brehmovi a mohl-li bych s ním psát úvodníky ze života zvířat se zabarvením katolických svátků, změny ročních počasí, dostih, honů, výchovy policejních psů, národních i církevních svátků, zkrátka mít situační novinářský přehled a využitkovat ho v krátkém obsažném úvodníčku.
[II.3] Přibývala mně nová zvířata každým dnem. Sám byl jsem velice překvapen mými úspěchy v těchto oborech. Nikdy jsem si nepomyslil, že je třeba zvířenu tak silně doplnit a že Brehm tolik zvířat mohl vynechat ve svém spise ,Život zvířat’. Věděl Brehm a všichni ti, kteří šli po něm, o mém netopýrovi z ostrova Islandu, ,netopýru vzdáleném’, o mé kočce domácí z vrcholku hory Kilimandžaro pod názvem ,pačucha jelení dráždivá’?
[II.3] Poslal jsem dopis, ve kterém jsem celou svou theorii vyložil o ořešníku, propletaje dopis četnými nadávkami a vymyšlenými citáty z Brehma.
[II.3] Sojka zůstane sojkou, i kdyby se redaktor ,Světa zvířa’ z toho podě..l, a zůstane to jen dokladem, jak lehkomyslně a nevěcně se leckdys píše, byť by se i on dovolával Brehma nápadně neurvale. Ten sprosťák píše, že sojka patří podle Brehma do čeledi krokodýlovitých, str. 452, kde se mluví o ťuhýku čili strakoši obecném (Lanius minor L.). Pak se tento ignorant, smím-li to jeho jméno zdrobnit, dovolává opět Brehma, že sojka patří do čeledi patnácté, a Brehm havranovité počítá do čeledi sedmnácté, k nimž druží se havrani, rod kavek, a jest tak sprostý, že i mne nazval kavkou (Colaeus) s rodem strak, vran modrých, podčeledí blbounů nejapných, ačkoliv na téže stránce jedná se o sojkách hájních a strakách pestrých...’
Kún
is mentioned through "engineer Khúns flea", one of Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's many zoological inventions during his time as editor of Svět zvířat. He found the flea in a piece of amber, the flea was blind, and lived on a pre-historic underground mole who also was blind etc.
The discovery was reported in good faith by Čech (Catholic) but ridiculed by Čas (Realist Party) and it led to a heated debate between the two papers. The incident cause a downward turn in Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's career as editor as the subscribers started to raise concerns.
Background
Kún
was a long-time friend of Jaroslav Hašek. As Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek states, he was an engineer but is far better known as an editor, poet and translator of French. The two had met through Hašek's acquaintance with students from the technical high school at Karlovo náměstí. He was originally from Moravia.
Kún was also a member of Strana mírného pokroku v mezích zákona. A curiosity is that his home address in 1910 was in the same building as Bendlovka.
Kún's flea
Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story about the flea is no doubt inspired by a little joke that Hašek "planted" in Svět zvířat in 1911, albeit at a time he when didn't work for the magazine[a]. The false story was printed in good faith by Čech two years later but was exposed by Právo lidu soon after. Čas was one of several newspapers reporting their mishap. See Engineer Khún's Flea for details about this story!
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Měli do té doby přírodozpytci zdání o nějaké blešeinženýra Khúna, kterou jsem našel v jantaru a která byla úplně slepá, poněvadž žila na podzemním praehistorickém krtkovi, který také byl slepý, poněvadž jeho prababička se spářila, jak jsem psal, s podzemním slepým macarátem jeskynním z Postojenské jeskyně, která v té době zasahovala až na nynější Baltický oceán?
Credit: Radko Pytlík, Jaroslav Šerák, Václav Menger
Pazourek
no doubt refers to Karel Pazourek, an expert beekeeper and head teacher from Čestice in hejtmanství Hradec Králové. Various newspaper clips and adverts reveal that he was active in beekeeping associations and often travelled around to give lectures and hold courses on the subject.
A well-known beekeeper
Little is known about the life of Pazourek but his name appeared in connection with beekeeping already in 1897[a]. Otherwise, we know that he died in May 1913 at the age of 54, was a family father and was well known amongst bee-keepers[b].
Apart from giving lectures and courses he also wrote for specialised magazines like Český včelař (The Czech Beekeeper) and significantly Svět zvířat. During Hašek's time as editor of the magazine (February 1909 - Oktober 1910) Pazourek contributed to almost every issue and it must be assumed that the two met. Several times the journal printed pictures of him.
He wrote for Svět zvířat at least from 1904 and he continued to do so until a few weeks before his death in 1913. The magazine honoured him with an obituary[c].
Mystification
The claim by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek that Pazourek was hit by a stroke seems improbable because Pazourek was seriously ill in March 1913 but still contributed to the magazine until died in May[b]. In his obituary in Svět zvířat it is revealed that he died after protracted suffering, not a typical for a stroke victim. Pazourek died more than two years after Hašek was sacked as editor of Svět zvířat.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Původ k tomu daly mé různé drobné zprávy o včelařství, drůbežnictví, kde jsem rozvinul své nové theorie, které způsobily pravé zděšení, poněvadž po mých jednoduchých radách ranila známého včelaře pana Pazourka mrtvice a vyhynulo včelaření na Šumavě i v Podkrkonoší.
Jos. M. Kadlčák
was a teacher, editor and conservative politician from Moravia who from 1907 served as Reichsrat deputy for the Catholic National Party. From 1907 (or earlier) until 1911 he was editor of the monthly Selský obzor (Farming Horizon), an activity he undertook from Frýdlant nad Ostravicí where he lived from 1886 to 1919[a]. In Czechoslovakia he continued his political career and at the time of his death in 1924 he was deputy chairman of the Czechoslovak Senate.
It is an indisputable fact that Kadlčák edited Selský obzor at the time when Hašek edited Svět zvířat (1909 and 1910) and that he indeed was a clerical parliamentary deputy, as Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek says. That Country Life printed pictures of jays at the time is also a foregone conclusion, and Svět zvířat indeed did. One example is a picture printed in no. 243 on 15 July 1909 (page 11).
Contrary to Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's claim, Selský obzor never printed any editorial or other articles about Hašek and his renaming of the jay to "walnutter". Nor is, to our knowledge, Svět zvířat mentioned in the newspaper.
The acorner and the jay
Due to the similarities between Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek from The Good Soldier Švejk and Jaroslav Hašek regarding their respective careers as editors of Svět zvířat, we must assume that the dispute between Marek and Kadlčák to a degree is inspired by Hašek's own experiences at the magazine.
On 15 July 1909 appeared in Svět zvířat an item about a bird called žaludník (acorner)[b], accompanied by a photo. Hašek translated the description from German, most probably from Brehm. In German, the bird is called Eichelhäher (Garrulus glandarius), a name that indicates a connection to acorns (Eichel). This name stems from the fact that jays collect acorns and other nuts and store them as winter supplies. In Czech, the word for acorn is žalud, and Hašek translated Eichelhäher literally as žaludník, whereas the correct term is sojka.
According to Radko Pytlík, Kadlčák pointed out the error on a postcard to which Hašek responded impertinently. Kadlčák then complained in writing directly to Fuchs[c]. Hašek, however, stood his ground and published a response from a "reader" who also used the term "žaludník". Through The Good Soldier Švejk and Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story, Hašek thus transformed his translation mistake into conscious mystification.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Vrhl jsem se na ptáky žijící na svobodě a ještě dnes se pamatuji na svou affairu s redaktorem ,Selského obzoru’, klerikálním poslancem ředitelem Jos. M. Kadlčákem! Vystřihl jsem z anglického časopisu ,Country Life’ obrázek nějakého ptáčka, který seděl na ořechu. Dal jsem mu název ořešník, stejně jako bych se nijak logicky nerozpakoval napsat, že pták sedící na jalovci je jalovník, případně jalovice. I co se nestalo. Na obyčejném korespondenčním lístku napadl mne pan Kadlčák, že prý je to sojka a žádný ořešník, a že prý je to překlad Eichelhäher. Poslal jsem dopis, ve kterém jsem celou svou theorii vyložil o ořešníku, propletaje dopis četnými nadávkami a vymyšlenými citáty z Brehma. Poslanec Kadlčák odpověděl v ,Selském obzoru’ úvodním článkem.
Bayer
is mentioned by Jos. M. Kadlčák in his dispute with Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek about jays (Ganulus glandarius B) and nutcrackers (Mucifraga carycatectes B). Marek maintained that 'B' meant blb (idiot) whereas it probably refers to the initial letter of Bayer.
Background
Bayer
was a Czech zoologist, ornitologist and paleontologist, author of a number of scientific works. Amongst them was the popular science book Naši ptáci (Our birds), published in 1886 and 1888[a]. He also translated Brehm's "Tierleben" (Animal Life) (3rd volume)[c] and wrote a number of entries for Ottův slovník naučný. Bayer was a highly respected scientist and by 1914 held the formal title as government advisor.
Naši ptáci
As mentioned the book "Our birds" was published in 1886 and 1888 and was a leading reference work in ornithology. It is this book that Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek refers to when he quotes Jos. M. Kadlčák about the jay (sojka), a bird that was described on page 148. Indeed the jay is mentioned on this page! Then on page 150 the nutcracker (ořešník) follows. Bayer used the latin terms corvus glandarius, L. and corvus caryocatactes, L. On the other hand the Latin terms that Marek used seem to be twisted variations of those used by Brehm and are universally recognised: Garrulus ganulus and Nucifraga caryocatactes.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Čtu spokojeně dál, nedaje se přerušovat. ,Je to darebáctví, když se to děje od neodborníků a surovců. Kdo kdy říkal sojce ořešník? V díle Naši ptáci na straně 148 jest latinský název: Ganulus glandarius B. A., je ten můj pták - sojka. Redaktor vašeho listu zajisté uzná, že znám lépe svého ptáka, než ho může znát neodborník. Ořešník se nazývá podle dra Bayera Mucifraga carycatectes B., a to ,b’ neznamená, jak mně psal váš redaktor, že je to začáteční písmeno slova ,blb’. Čeští ptakopisci znají vůbec jenom sojku obecnou, nikoliv vašeho žaludníka, kterého vynašel právě ten pán, na kterého patří začáteční písmeno ,B’ podle jeho theorie. To jest neurvalý osobní nájezd, který na věci nic nezmění.
Mestek
is mentioned when Švejk's provides a counterpoint to Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's tale about his experiences as editor of Svět zvířat, where the theme is that anyone can make mistakes. In this case Mestek was the one who made the mistake. He claimed to have discovered a mermaid who he subsequently exhibited in a window in Havlíčkova třída in Vinohrady. The "mermaid" was a woman frå Žižkov who after finishing her daily performance as mermaid was seen soliciting in Táborská ulice. The lady didn't have a police book and when Polizeikommissar Drašner discovered this she was locked up and Mestek's mermaid business came to an end.
Background
Mestek
was a city character and household name in Prague, a man with an extremely diverse career and who even caught the attention of some prominent writers. Amongst these were Jaroslav Hašek and Egon Erwin Kisch.
City character
Ferdinand Mestek was born in 1858 in a house opposite Emauzský klášter, son of a tailor from Mníšek[a] and one of four siblings. From 1888 he is listed in the police records, as for instance "gold worker" and "pub landlord", descriptions that don't cover his extremely varied activities. He had a number of professions (impresario, circus director, flea circus owner, pub landlord) but they were rarely executed with success.
One example is a short appointment at the workshop of the firm EduardLokesch& Son (see Artur Lokesch), where we has employed after claiming knowledge of gold. The hollowness of the claim was quickly exposed and the working relation was terminated (Egon Erwin Kisch).
In 1907 he was on a long tour that included Maribor, Vienna, Brno, Olomouc and Innsbruck. One of the attractions was the lady Lona who was exhibited suspended in the air. Mestek was married to Anna, but his wife died in 1909 at an age of 44.
In literature
His major claim to fame is his part in the mildly ironic story Dramaturgie des Flohtheaters by Egon Erwin Kisch. It was printed in Kisch's book Die Abenteuer in Prag[g] from 1920[g]. It is largely a largely a reprint of three stories about Mestek that Kisch published in Bohemia in the summer of 1914[h][i][j]. Kisch also wrote a play about Mestek in 1925 and staged it at the Rokoko Theatre at Václavské náměstí. The main character was played by Vlasta Burian (1891-1962)[d], a comedian and actor who also have played Švejk.
Hašek also knew Mestek in person and his name appears in a couple of short stories printed in Tribuna during the spring of 1921. These were Tři muži se žralokem[b] and Reelní podnik[c], both written a few months before Mestek was introduced to the readers of The Good Soldier Švejk. The latter was in 1975 filmed with Miloš Kopecký playing Mestek.
Jaroslav Hašek and Egon Erwin Kisch were not the only ones who wrote about Mestek. Both Jan Neruda and Jakub Arbes had already "discovered" him and thus added him to the Czech literary heritage. Karel Ladislav Kukla also wrote about him and revealed that Mestek actually exhibited mermaids, albeit stuffed[e]. Whether or not this happened in Havlíčkova třída like Švejk claims has not been verified.
Obituaries
Mestek was a well known character in Prague, even to the extent that most major newspapers printed sympathetic obituaries when he died form tuberculosis in 1916. Amongst them were Bohemia, Národní politika, Prager Tagblatt, and Lidové noviny. In the latter Eduard Bass even wrote a longer tribute to him[f].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jednou před lety byl v Praze nějakej Mestek a ten vobjevil mořskou pannu a ukazoval ji na Havlíčkově třídě na Vinohradech za plentou. Ve plentě byl otvor a každej moh vidět v takovej polotmě prachvobyčejný kanape a na něm se válela jedna ženská ze Žižkova.
[II.3] V sedumhodin večer pak Mestek zavřel panorámu a řek: ,Mořská panno, můžete jít domů,` vona se převlíkla a v deset večer už ji bylo vidět chodit po Táborskej ulici a zcela nenápadně každýmu pánovi, kterýho potkala, říkat: ,Hezoune, šel si to zafilipínkovat.` Poněvadž neměla knížku, tak ji při šťáře s druhejma podobnejma myšema pan Drašner zavřel, a Mestek měl po kšeftě."
Credit: Jaroslav Šerák, Egon Erwin Kisch, Jaroslav Hašek
Dante
is mentioned by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek on the train to Bruck. He ridicules the escorting Korporal who he compares him to a Dante character.
Background
Dante
was a famous Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His La divina commedia, is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. Dante is also recognised as the father of the Italian language.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Pane desátníku,“ řekl jednoroční dobrovolník, „vy mně připomínáte nyní, jak sledujete šumné hory a vonné lesy, postavu Danta. Týž ušlechtilý obličej básníka, muže srdce a ducha jemného, přístupného šlechetnému hnutí. Zůstaňte, prosím vás, tak sedět, tak pěkně vám to sluší.
Štursa
is regarded as one of the founders of modern Czech sculpture. He studied at k.k. Kunstakademie (Academy of Art) in Prague from 1899 to 1904 and was employed there from 1908[b].
At the outbreak of war in 1914, he was called up and sent to the front with Infanterieregiment Nr. 81 (Jihlava). Due to a damaged hand, he was deemed unfit for carrying arms. He served as an officer's servant and performed other auxiliary duties, amongst them assisting at funerals. The latter activity was later reflected in his art. In 1916 he was released from service and could resume his career, now as a professor at the art academy[b].
Štursa committed suicide in 1925, allegedly due to depression related to syphilis.
Acquaintance of Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek knew sculptor Štursa in person as he frequented the same circles as the author of The Good Soldier Švejk. Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj recalled that the sculptor was present at Montmartre on the day that Hašek and Kuděj met for the first time (in 1909 at the earliest)[a]. Ladislav Hájek also also mentioned that they enjoyed common company, this time at U Brejšky[c].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Dovolte, pane desátníku, nestál jste snad modelem sochaři Štursovi?“ Desátník podíval se na jednoročního dobrovolníka a řekl smutně: „Nestál.“
Mráz
was a reserve officer, in civilian life a teacher of maths at a realgymnasium. He was commander of the troop transport train between Budějovice and Bruck and led the inspection patrol who in the arrestee car encountered an unexpected passenger, the snoring Feldoberkurat Lacina.
Background
The list of officers from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 does not contain any Mráz but it should be noted that the surname (it means "frost") is widespread in southern Bohemia where this regiment was recruited from[c]. Elsewhere in Bohemia the name is less common and in the address book for Prague for 1910 only two are listed. One of them actually had a doctor title but was however in the subject of law, not in mathematics.
Interesting is a note by Bohumil Milčan about an episode that took place in a hotel Budějovice in 1915. Hašek was offered to stay in the flat of some H. Mráz who was about to serve two weeks in the arrest[b]. On a further military note, Mráz is a frequent name in the Verlustliste of Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. During the battle of Khorupan no less than five of them were reported missing or injured[a].
Newspapers reveals the existence of dr. Antonín Mráz (1870-1935), a doctor of theology. He held a prominent position in the Catholic Church in Budějovice[d]. Significantly he was also a lecturer at a middle school (reálka) in Písek so there is at least some similarity with the literary figure. Still it would be very far-fetched to assume a connection between the theologist and Hašek's reserve officer.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Do vagonu vstoupila inspekce. Velitelem vojenského vlaku byl štábem naznačen reservní důstojník doktor Mráz. Na takové hloupé služby vždy házeli reservní důstojníky. Doktor Mráz byl z toho jelen. Nemohl se dopočítat pořád jednoho vagonu, ačkoliv byl v civilu profesorem matematiky na reálném gymnasiu.
[II.3] "Jak se jmenujete?" otázal se doktor Mráz, dívaje se opět do svých papírů. "Švejk Josef, poslušně hlásím, pane lajtnant " "Ehm, vy jste tedy ten známý Švejk," řekl doktor Mráz, "vy jste měl opravdu vyjít o jedenácté. Ale pan nadporučík Lukáš mne žádal, abych vás nepouštěl až v Brucku, je prý to bezpečnější, alespoň na cestě nic nevyvedete."
Fredy
is mentioned by the drowsy Feldoberkurat Lacina as he is woken up by Doctor Mráz' inspection. It is possible that he recognized Mráz, who thus carries the first name Bedřich (Friedrich).
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Desátník obrátil po delší námaze vrchního polního kuráta naznak, přičemž se ten probudil, a vida důstojníka před sebou, řekl: „Eh, servus, Fredy, was gibt’s neues? Abendessen schon fertig?“ Zamhouřil opět oči a obrátil se k stěně.
Schreiter is an extremely rare surname in Czechia.
Příjmení: 'Schreiter', počet výskytů v celé ČR2017
Schreiter
was a junior officer who Švejk had a conflict with when doing his national service. Schreiter had called the soldiers railway watchmen, a description that Švejk, as a soldier serving the Emperor objected to. He complained to the company commander, it was passed on to the battalion and finally to the regiment. Schreiter in the end had to apologize to Švejk in front of the officers. This happened in 1912 during the so-called ProchaskaAffair (see konsul Prochaska).
Background
Where Hašek drew inspiration for supák Schreiter[1] from is unclear. The author himself didn't serve in the army until 1915 so it could not have been based on any personal experience from 1912. Schreiter is an altogether rare surname and not even in Verlustliste for Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 does it appear[a]. This however doesn't rule out that a similar incident took place somewhere and that Hašek know about it, be it from newspapers or from fellow soldiers.
1. Supák was a colloquial term for a soldier who stayed on in the armed forces after completing his compulsory military service. The actual rank of the figure from The Good Soldier Švejk is Feldwebel. See also supák Solpera.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Já vám něco povím, pane kaprál,“ poznamenal Švejk, „já už jsem starej voják, sloužil jsem před válkou, a vono se to vždycky s těma nadávkama nevyplácí. Když jsem tenkrát sloužil před léty, pamatuju se, že u nás byl u kumpanie nějakej supák Schreiter. Von sloužil za supu; moh jít už jako kaprál dávno domů, ale byl, jak se říká, uhozenej.
[II.3] ,Co chceš?’ povídá hejtman. ,Mám, poslušně hlásím, pane hejtmane, stížnost na našeho pana feldwebla Schreitra, my jsme přec císařští vojáci, a ne žádní vechtři. My sloužíme císaři pánu, ale nejsme žádní hlídači ovoce.’
[II.3] Toho se lek a hned dal do kanceláře zavolat našeho supáka Schreitra a ten mě musel vodprosit přede všema oficírama za to slovo ,vechter’.
[II.3] Já jsem si na nic nemohl vzpomenout, a tak jsem se z dlouhý chvíle podepsal na stěně pod název ,Supák Schreiter je hnát’.
[II.3] Asi patnáctkrát tu zeď od magacínu s těma nápisama i s mým podpisem páni od vojenskýho soudu fotografovali, desetkrát mně dali napsat, aby zkoumali můj rukopis: ,My na vojnu nepůjdeme, my se na ni vyséreme’, patnáctkrát musel jsem psát před nimi ,Supák Schreiter je hnát’ a nakonec přijel jeden znalec písma a dal mně napsat: ,Bylo 29. července 1897, kdy Králový Dvůr nad Labem poznal hrůzy prudkého a rozvodněného Labe’.
Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte der böhmischen Länder,2000
East Oregonian,16.11.1912
Arbeiter-Zeitung,18.11.1912
Arbeiter-Zeitung,18.11.1912
Österreich-Ungarns Aussenpolitik, Band 5, 1930
Lidové noviny,16.1.1913
Prochaska
is mentioned in Švejk's story from his time doing military service in 1912. He was accused of writing "We'll shit on the war" on a wall by a munitions dump. This happened when war was looming due to that consul Prochaska. Švejk was taken to the Landesgericht in Terezín because of his alleged scribbling.
Background
Prochaska
was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat who in the autumn of 1912 hit the headlines all over the world because of the so-called Prochaska Affair, a diplomatic twist between Austria-Hungary and Serbia that threatened to ignite a major war in Europe[1].
Early years
Prochaska was born in Adamov by Brno in 1876, the son of Ferdinand (lawyer) and Olga (nee Lachnit, also from a family of lawyers). He was educated at k.u.k. Konsularakademie in Vienna (1895-1900). After completing his military service as a one-year volunteer, he was from December 1901 employed at consulates in Ottoman Balkans: Üsküb (Skopje), Monastir (Bitola), Prizren. At the last location, he worked from April to August 1904, then from December 1906 until February 1913, and from 22 January 1911 as consul[b]. On 10 January 1912, he had his surname changed to Prochaska-Lachnit[a].
The Prochaska Affair
After the outbreak of the First Balkan War on 17 October 1912 the situation in Prizren became tense. At the end of the month, Serbian forces entered the city[c] and Prochaska's employers at k.u.k. Außenministerium lost contact with him. On 8 November the Serbian ambassador in Vienna filed a complaint to the Foreign Ministry, claiming that the consul had organised resistance against the invaders and that shots had been fired at them from the roof of the consulate[m]. That very day the Austrian press started to take an interest in the matter[l]. On the 16th Neue Freie Presse received a telegram from the Serbian government, assuring that the consul in Prizren was well and there was no reason for concern. The content was printed the next day[r].
The good news however drowned in the noise caused by an article on the 17th in the Berlin paper Vossische Zeitung. It concerned the events in Prizren and claimed that the Serbians massacred the Muslim population, and forced their way into the consulate and killed Albanians who had taken refuge there[n]. On the 18th the article was quoted in many Austrian newspapers and Reichspost in particular blew up the story. On the 19th it claimed that the consul had been gored by bayonets and was seriously injured[j]. The war cry became louder and louder, the flag on the consulate had allegedly been desecrated and it was claimed that Prochaska had been murdered[k], even entmannt (castrated). The demands for severe measures against Serbia increased and war loomed. Russia raised the alert and partly mobilised in the army districts that bordered Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy decided to put parts of the army on a war footing.
In the meantime, Prochaska had decided to leave Prizren and on the 25th he arrived in Üsküb[e], a city that already for a month had been occupied by Serbia and renamed Skoplje. From here it was possible to send dispatches to k.u.k. Außenministerium about the events of the recent weeks[f]. Prochaska revealed that from 10 November guards had been posted by the consulate so he was prevented from leaving the premises, and his horse had been stolen. The employees at the consulate had been verbally abused and on departure, he was sworn at by a stone-throwing mob. On the other hand, the writing in some newspapers of Austria-Hungary about mutilation and murder were pure inventions and Prochaska didn't report any desecration of the flag or that the consulate had been attacked. Nor had he been subjected to any physical harm.
Still, not all the stories in the press of his homeland were invented. Prochaska himself witnessed several cruel episodes where the Albanians were victims. The Serbian reign of terror in the occupied areas was also reported by Leo Trotsky, a journalist (later well-known revolutionary) who reported on the Serbian occupation of Ottoman Makdeonia at the end of 1912[d].
On 13 December 1912k.u.k. Außenministerium finally received a report from the ambassador in Belgrade (von Ugron) that summarised the affair[h]. There had been certain transgressions of international law by the Serbians, but it was added that if the consul had exercised more tact the matter might have been resolved with less disruption. Still, in an answer dated 19 December Austria-Hungary demanded that Serbia officially apologise and that the flag of the Dual Monarchy again is raised in Prizren, and with Serbian soldiers and Prochaska himself present[i].
These terms were accepted by the Serbians and the case was seemingly resolved. On 15 January 1913 at 10 in the morning, the flag was raised in a ceremony where the consul appeared in gala uniform and the Serbian military formed a guard of honour with the band playing[o]. Still there must obviously have been frictions because on 24 February he was replaced.
Outcome
The Prochaska affair was an omen of the disaster that was to follow 18 months later. The affair went hand in hand with Austro-Hungarian opposition to allowing Serbia a port on the Adriatic, and this issue was arguably more important than the Prochaska Affair itself. Large parts of the Austrian press took a belligerent stance and military measures were taken. A total of eight army corps were mobilised, totalling more than half a million men[x]. The Czech press and public were generally sceptical and some newspapers attacked Prochaska directly using the word pověstný (notorious). The Austrian Social Democrats were particularly vocal in their opposition to the war. Some large Vienna newspapers like Die Zeit and Neue Freie Presse showed a more measured approach. In the end, the affair became an embarrassment for Austria-Hungary who also had wasted resources on the partial mobilisation.
Later life
In 1913 Prochaska-Lachnit obtained a new position as consul in Rio de Janeiro and he kept this post until after World War I. Then he became a Czechoslovak citizen but was not allowed a pension so he moved to Vienna. Even there he had trouble getting his service recognised but he eventually obtained a position as a lecturer in Portuguese at the university but this was as late as 1937. Later that year 1937 he was also employed by a court as an interpreter in English, French and Italian[z].
Meeting E.E. Kisch
Der rasende Reporter, Egon Erwin Kisch, 1924
On at least three occasions Egon Erwin Kisch wrote about a chance meeting he had with Prochaska in Brno, presumably in the early twenties. The famous reporter touched on the rumours of castration and asked the former consul directly: "Ist es wahr, Herr Generalkonsul, daß Sie 1912 von den Serben kastriert worden sind?". Prochaska grinned and reassured Kisch that this was not the case before he went on to explain how the rumour came about in the first place.
When around 26 November 1912 the news broke that he had arrived in Skopje there was a technical problem. In Serbian it sounded correctly "Prochaska u Skoplje" (Prochaska in Skoplje) but because of an error with the telegraph machine, the letter 'n' had been added. In the Serbian language "uskopljen" is something far more sinister than simply being present in the Macedonian capital: it means that the subject has been castrated! Thus the letter 'N' had a severe effect on the flow of world history. Kisch's article was printed in Prager Tagblatt on 1 July 1923[t] and in a slightly shorter version in Der rasende Reporter (1924)[p] and more verbose in Marktplatz der Sensationen (1942)[s].
Hašek and Prochaska
Radko Pytlík assumes that a story about the affair that was printed just before Christmas 1912 in Karikatury was written by Hašek although it was signed by one of his friends[q] (Hašek often borrowed pseudonyms from his circle of acquaintances). Here he ridicules the affair, particularly the Christian-Social party and their mouthpiece Reichspost. This newspaper was behind some of the more absurd claims about Prochaska and was one of the prime warmongers. Hašek also added in his grotesque way that the consul had his intestines cut out and that these were sold for 5 dinars per centimetre in Skopje.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nešťastnou náhodou ještě nad tím nápisem byl jinej: ,My na vojnu nepůjdeme, my se na ni vyséreme’, a to bylo v roce 1912, když jsme měli jít do Srbska kvůli tomu konsulovi Procházkovi. Tak mě hned poslali do Terezína k landgerichtu.
Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních, 1910
František Škvor
is mentioned in a story Švejk tells on the train from Budějovice til Királyhida. Škvor was a coal trader who was locked up together with him at c.k. policejní ředitelství at the beginning of the war, was accused of high treason, and was known for his famously nebulous comment when asked if he had objections to the court protocol:
Let things have been as they have been,
they have been, nevertheless, one way or another
So far it has never been
that things wouldn’t be one way or another
Later he appeared before a military court and may have been executed.
Background
Škvor is in Bohemia a moderately common surname (it means ear-wig), predominantly found around Benešov[a]. In Vinohrady lived three František Škvor in 1912 (one servant, one brick-layer and one assistant installer). In the address book of Prague from 1910 ten of them are listed but none of them as a coal trader. On the other hand a certain Ferdinand Škvor from Žižkov is listed as a trader in coal and wood[b].
General Škvor
Hašek may also have been aware of a high-ranking officer who shared both the first- and surname of the coal trader from The Good Soldier Švejk. That said, the two obviously had little in common because the officer hardly traded in coal and was definitely not put in jail at the start of the war. Rather the opposite: František Škvor (1868-1941) enjoyed a distinguished military career both in k.u.k. Heer (Feldmarschall-Leutnant by 1917) and later as general in the Czechoslovak army[c].
Another well-known František František Škvor (1898-1970) was a composer but his date of birth indicates that Hašek hardly could have been aware of him when he wrote The Good Soldier Švejk in 1921-1922.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jako jsem znal jednoho uhlíře, kerej byl se mnou zavřenej na začátku války na policejním ředitelství v Praze, nějakej František Škvor, pro velezrádu, a později snad taky vodpravenej kvůli nějakej pragmatickej sankci. Ten člověk, když se ho u vejslechu ptali, jestli má nějaký námitky proti protokolu, řek: ,Aťsi bylo, jak si bylo, přece jaksi bylo, ještě nikdy nebylo, aby jaksi nebylo.’
Kudrna
is mentioned by one of the guards on the train to Királyhida. Kudrna was executed at Motol because of an incident where he got upset with a captain who hit his son with a sabre. This allegedly happened in Benešov where Kudrna was saying goodbye to his family before leaving for the front.
Background
Kudrna
was a soldier in Infanterieregiment Nr. 102 who was accused of mutiny in Benešov. He was executed by a firing squad at Motol on 7 May 1915 and left his wife and seven children behind. Shortly after his widow committed suicide. The story has been dramatised and filmatised (1929), and in 1935 a book about him was published[a].
Protests and rebllion
Kudrna was called up at the outbreak of war and sent to the front against Serbia with Infanterieregiment Nr. 102. At some stage he was wounded and after recuperating he was assigned to 10. Marschbataillon that was due for the front in the Carpathians.
When the news about the imminent departure caught the ear of the soldiers on 3 May 1915 a drinking binge started and a conflict erupted (albeit unarmed) when two unpopular officers Oberstleutnant Kukačka and Hauptmann Chocenský tried to control the situation. In the end Dragoons were dispatched to quell the threatening rebellion[c]. Three soldiers, amongst them Kudrna, were considered the leaders of the alleged mutiny and for some reason the latter was singled out as the main culprit and sentenced to death by martial court. The other two were given prison sentences[b].
Early victim
Kudrna was one of the best known victims of the persecution that the Austrian authorities carried out in Bohemia and Moravia after the outbreak of war. He was also the first to be sentenced to death by k.u.k. Militärgericht Prag. The case was very quickly conducted and bore traces of a judical murder. It also appeared to be designed to deter Czech soldiers from obstructing the war effort, an assumption underpinned by the fact that the replacement battalion of Infanterieregiment Nr. 102 and also the Prague garrison were commanded out to witness the execution.
The main architect of the affair seems to have been general Schwerdtner (see Generalmajor von Schwarzburg) who himself was present at the exercise ground in Motol during the execution.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Teď prej toho hodně věšejí a střílejí,“ řekl jeden z mužů eskorty, „nedávno nám četli na execírplace befél, že v Motole vodstřelili záložníka Kudrnu, poněvadž hejtman sekl šavlí jeho chlapečka, kerej byl na ruce u jeho ženy, když se s ním v Benešově chtěla loučit, a von se rozčílil.
One of the last issues of Pokrok that Kotek edited.
Pokrok,24.7.1914
News about the execution of Kotek
Prager Abendblatt,2.1.1915
Kotek
is indirectly referred to "as an editor in Mähren" when a soldier in the escort on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida talks about recent executions. He gives reservist Kudrna and the editor as examples.
Background
Kotek is not mentioned by name in The Good Soldier Švejk but the timing and circumstances around this part of the plot leave no doubt that Kotek was the man the soldier on the train had in mind. He was the only editor that had been executed at this time, and probably the only Czech editor that was executed during the entire war. He is no doubt one of the best-known victims of Austrian wartime persecution.
Unionist and editor
Josef Kotek hailed from a working-class family and was himself a trained metal worker. From 1901 to 1904 he worked at Škoda and otherwise also in Prague, Jičín, Náchod, Mladá Boleslav and Přerov. He engaged in trade union and poltical work, and was active in the consumer co-operative and in Česká strana národně sociální. From 1 August 1913 he was editor of the party's regional weekly Pokrok in Prostějov in Mähren[a]. After the outbreak of war, the paper was sensored and Kotek decided to close it[b].
Sentenced and executed
On 6 December 1914 Kotek held a talk for co-op members in a tavern in the village of Smržice by Prostějov. The purpose was to explain to the local members why their branch had to be closed down, but the speech proved fatal. He was denounced, arrested and tried at a military court in Moravská Ostrava. According to some witnesses, his speech was strongly anti-Austrian and anti-German whilst Kotek himself claimed that he had uttered nothing against the state, and simply pointed out that the war hurt the co-op movement[c].
He was sentenced to death by a k.k. Landwehr martial court on 23 December 1914 and executed by a firing squad only two hours after the verdict[b]. The sentence was announced in the new year in the newspapers. In order to deter, placards were posted across Moravia. The justification for the harsh verdict was that Kotek's utterance were hostile to the state and the unity of the empire, although he was sentenced according to a paragraph on public order.
Aftermath
In connection with the general amnesty of emperor Karl I. on 2 July 1917, the case was reconsidered and Kotek was rehabilitated post-portem[d]. This news item even reached Jaroslav Hašek in faraway Kiev and he mocked Kotek's "amnesty" in a feuilleton that he had published on New Year's Eve that year[e].
Already before the war ended, the social democrat daily Arbeiter-Zeitung described the execution of Kotek as judicial murder and pointed out that the paragraph he was judged by carried a maximum sentence of 5 years and that a field court had no jurisdiction behind the lines[f]. This was obviously also pointed out by the Czech press after the war.
In posterity, Kotek was honoured in Czechoslovakia. He had streets named after him and memorial plaques have also been installed, for instance on the wall of the tavern where he held his fatal speech.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] A politický lidi vůbec zavírají. Taky už vodstřelili jednoho redaktora na Moravě. A náš hejtman povídal, že to na vostatní ještě čeká.“
The Mess of Pottage, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), gouache on board, 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (21.3 x 26.8 cm), at the Jewish Museum, New York.
Esau
is mentioned by the stupid Korporal in the escort from Budějovice to Királyhida. He was making himself important by telling a story of how he harassed an editor who had problems getting to grips with the practicalities of military life. The editor cleaned his buttons so shoddily that "they were rusty red as Esau".
Background
Esau
was son of Rebecca and Isaac in the Book of Genesis. His brother was Jacob, father of the nation of Israel.
Esau was according to the Book of Genesis born hairy and rusty red and this is where the expression "red as Esau" comes from.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Desátník vzdychl: „Ani ty faldy na mantlu neuměl si udělat, až z Prahy si vobjednával vodičky a různý mastě na čistění knoflíků, a přece takovej jeho knoflík vypadal zrzavej jako Ezau.
Koníček
was a soldier from Infanterieregiment Nr. 35 who had stabbed to death a Korporal who had pestered him, and then stabbed himself. This was a story Švejk told the Korporal who was responsible for the prisoners on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida. Švejk had read about the incident in Kurýr.
Background
No obvious model for Koníček has been identified. That soldiers killed their superiors happened and the newspapers mentioned a handful of such incidents over the years. Some victims were stabbed by knife or bayonet, but most of the cases involved firearms. Corporals were found amongst perpetrators as well as victims. Any case as grotesque as that of Koníček has not been pin-pointed (Kurýr is of 2022 not available digitally).
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Pro tyhle samý věci, pro takový sekýrování, zapích před léty u pětatřicátýho regimentu nějakej Koníček sebe i kaprála. Bylo to v ,Kurýru’.
Fiala
was a junior officer from Drábovna by Turnov who some years ago had his throat slit by his own soldiers in Dalmatia. This is in a story Švejk tells the escort Korporal about members of his rank who had been killed by their own men.
Background
Fiala is a very common Czech surname and Verlustliste reveal that several of them were Korporal. Still, as in the related case Koníček it has not been possible to find any parallel to the story in newspapers from the period in question. It must therefore be assumed that the story is one of Švejk's grotesque exaggerations or even invention, an assumption that is underpinned by the fact that Drábovna was not a populated place.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jinej případ byl před léty v Dalmacii, tam kaprála podřezali a dodnes se neví, kdo to udělal. Zůstalo to zahalený v tajnosti, jen se ví tolik, že ten podřezanej kaprál se jmenoval Fiala a byl z Drábovny u Turnova.
Rejmánek
was a junior officer from Infanterieregiment Nr. 75, part of the same story as Korporal Fiala, which Švejk fails to complete because Feldoberkurat Lacina wakes up making noises like the young giant Gargantua. To judge by the two other NCOs in the anecdote Rejmánek also suffered a grim fate.
Background
Rejmánek is a very rare Czech surname[a] and searches for such a junior officer in periodicals from the relevant historical period show no results. The surname it however appears, albeit rarely. Schematismus reveals one Leopold Rejmánek who in 1914 is listed as Oberartzt i. d. Reserve in Infanterieregiment Nr. 13. Rejmánek was born in 1884 and was the only person with this surname that is registereed with the police in Prague (1909 til 1913). He was from Hradec Králove and eventually he became a well-known medic in his home city. This indicates that the stay in Prague was for study purposes. He lived in Vinohrady in 1913[b]. Hašek mingled a lot with students but it would be far-fetched to concluded that there is any connection.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Potom ještě vím o jednom kaprálovi od pětasedmdesátejch, Rejmánkovi...“
Gargantua
is mentioned when the author compares the sounds Feldoberkurat Lacina emits with the sounds of the awakening giant Gargantua.
Background
Gargantua
is one of the two main protagonists in a five-volume epic by Rabelais, titled Les Cinq livres des faits et dits de Gargantua et Pantagruel (The Five Books of the Lives and Deeds of Gargantua and Pantagruel), written in the 16th century. Gargantua is the father and Pantagruel the son in these stories. It is a satirical work, replete with vulgarities and descriptions of troublesome digestion.
Translated into Czech
The novel was translated into Czech in the period from 1912 and 1930[b], so the inspiration for the sounds that Hašek attributes to Feldoberkurat Lacina is probably from the first volume. Several translations into English exist[c].
Gargantua as newly born
In chapter six of the first volume there is a description of how the newly born Pantagruel behaved. In this sequence the reader may recognize elements from Lacina's waking up[a] without this necessarily being the passage that Hašek had in mind.
Chapitre VI.
En sorte qu’elles considerant ceste complexion divine pour le resiouir au matin faisoyent davant luy donner des verres avecques un cousteau, ou des flaccons avecques leur toupon, ou des pinthes avecques leur couvercle. Auquel son il s’esguayoit, il tressailoit, et luy mesmes se bressoit en dodelinant de la teste, monichordisant des doigts, et baritonant du cul.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Páter se probouzel v celé své kráse a důstojnosti. Jeho probouzení bylo provázeno těmitéž zjevy, jako ranní probuzení mladého obra Gargantuy, jak to popisoval starý veselý Rabelais.
Rabelais
is mentioned when the author compares the sounds Feldoberkurat Lacina emits with the sounds of the awakening giant Gargantua. He is referred to as "old merry Rabelais".
Background
Rabelais
was a French monk, humanist, scholar, doctor and not the least author. He is best known for his five volume satirical classic The Five Books about the Lives and Deeds of Gargantua and Pantagruel.
Jaroslav Hašek has often been compared to Rabelais, an author he obviously had read and been inspired by.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Páter se probouzel v celé své kráse a důstojnosti. Jeho probouzení bylo provázeno těmitéž zjevy, jako ranní probuzení mladého obra Gargantuy, jak to popisoval starý veselý Rabelais.
Slovanské písně lidové k pochodu a cvičením prostným,1912
Marína
from Hodonín appears in a verse Švejk sings for Feldoberkurat Lacina during the train journey to Bruck. The latter does not get angry despite the verse's suggestion of immorality amongst the clergy.
Background
Marína
is the subject of a Slovak folk song that exists in a few variations (Švejk only sings the first verse). It was popular as a soldier's song in the Legions and also amongst Czech and Slovak soldiers in k.u.k. Heer.
In 1919 it was included in a song-booklet that the Czechoslovak military authorities published in Irkutsk. Except for two ortographical details the text of the first verse is the same as in The Good Soldier Švejk[a]. In a pre-war version the first verse is different as there is no allusion to the priest[b].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3]
Ide Marína
od Hodonína,
za ní pan farář
s bečicú vína.
[II.3] "Kdyby zde alespoň bylo trochu rumu, nemusela by být bečka vína," řekl usmívaje se v naprosté přátelské náladě, "a tu Marínu bychom si taky odpustili, beztoho to jen svádí ke hříchu."
Mlíčko
was a bricklayer from Dejvice who was in the habit of lending others small change but he rarely got the money back. This was according to an anecdote Švejk told on the train from Budějovice til Királyhida. He is not to be confused with carpenter Mlíčko.
Background
It has not been possible to identify any "model" for this figure although one Antonín Mlíčko (born 1885) actually lived in Dejvice from 1906 onwards[a]. His profession is however not known. See carpenter Mlíčko for further information.
A roofer
A certian František Mlíčko (born 1871) also lived in Dejvice and worked as a roofer[b], an occupation that at least is related to bricklayer. He was registered in Dejvice from 1896 and his occupation is given as "tapezierer".
A rare name
Mlíčko is a rare family name and in 2021 only 35 persons are named such. Many of them live in the area around Blatná. The address directory of Prague (1910) only contain 6 persons with this surname.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] "Von mně připomíná s těma drobnejma, který nemá", prohodil Švejk, "že je jako nějaký Mlíčko, zedník z Dejvic, ten taky neměl tak dlouho drobný, až se zasekal po krk a byl zavřenej pro podvod. Prožral velký a neměl drobný."
Kirschner
was a senior lieutenant whose servant Oberleutnant Lukáš had to share when Švejk was on his anabasis or was locked up in Budějovice. The servant of Kirschner neglected Lukáš totally, to the degree that Lukáš was glad to have Švejk back despite his numerous misdeeds. The reunion happened at a railway station in Vienna.
Background
There were many officers named Kirschner in k.u.k. Wehrmacht in 1914 but none of them belonged to Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 or other units that were garrisoned in Budějovice[a][b].
Karl Kirschner
Still there is a minor chance that the former bank-employee Jaroslav Hašek may have known about an Oberleutnant (reservist) Karl Kirschner from Traindivision Nr. 8[c] and borrowed his name. He was from Prague and worked at Česká spořitelna (Böhmische Sparkasse) and was the son of a railway inspector. In 1914 Prager Tagblatt reported that Kirschner had been promoted from Leutnant[e] at the front in Serbia and in 1915 he was decorated with a Signum Laudis[d]. Kirschner was born in 1881 and lived in Korunní třída in Vinohrady[f], an area that Hašek knew well and lived in from 1906 to 1908 or 1909.
Because Traindivision Nr. 8 belonged to 8. Korpskommando Prague it is very likely that it operated in the same sections of the front as Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 but their exact deployment during the war is yet to be investigated.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jeho situace byla velice nepříjemnou, poněvadž měli prozatím s nadporučíkem Kirschnerem jednoho burše. Chlapík se staral vlastně výhradně jen o svého pána a provozoval úplnou sabotáž, když šlo o nadporučíka Lukáše.
Vaníček
is mentioned in an anecdote Švejk tells Oberleutnant Lukáš at a railway station in Vienna when he emphasises that everything that has happened until now has been bad luck, mere divine management as old Vaníček from Pelhřimov said when he had been sentenced for the 36th time.
Background
Vaníček is a common Czech surname and in 2022 a few families live in Pelhřimov[a]. Still, it has not been possible to identify any source of inspiration for this figure. Hašek used the name also in the stories Number fifteen[c] and The unhappy story with the tomcat[b], but here the figure(s) Vaníček had little in common with the unfortunate old man from Pelhřimov.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Vostudu,“ pokračoval Švejk, „jsem vám jistě nikdy neudělal, jestli se něco stalo, to byla náhoda, pouhý řízení boží, jako říkal starej Vaníček z Pelhřimova, když si vodbejval šestatřicátej trest.
Stephan
is said to have honoured the house of pleasure Zum Kukuruzkolben with a visit during the large manoeuvres by Sopron in 1908.
Background
Stephan
(Archduke) would over the years fit several people but none of them were alive in 1908 when the army manoeuvres by Sopron supposedly took place.
The person that Hašek had in mind was therefore most likely Karl Stephan, an Austrian archduke of the House of Habsburg, brother of Archduke Friedrich and admiral in k.u.k. Kriegsmarine. Explanations found in the most recent Polish and German translations of The Good Soldier Švejk also assume this, and Milan Hodík arrived at the same conclusion. The hypothesis makes some sense but on the other hand it seems strange that a naval officer attended the exercises of the terrestrial armed forces.
Kaisermanövern 1908
Illustrierte Kronen-Zeitung,4.3.1908
Hašek was however on track when he referred to the large manoeuvres by Sopron in 1908. That year western Hungary hosted the annual Kaisermanövern and Sopron was indeed one of the sites. The manoeuvres headquarters were located further east, in Hajmáskér by Veszprém. The newspapers reported on the event and reveal that many luminaries attended: Emperor Franz Joseph I., Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Archduke Karl Franz Joseph, Feldmarschall Conrad, Archduke Friedrich etc. Franz Ferdinand headed the manoeuvres that took place from 15 to18 September 1908. On the other hand Karl Stephan is not mentioned and we shall soon discover why.
Engagement celebration
Karl Stephan's alibi, his future son-in-law.
Österreichische Illustrierte Zeitung,6.9.1908
Based on other news items it is safe to conclude that Karl Stephan hardly could have attended these manoeuvres. On 12 September 1908 he and his wife travelled to attend a celebration in Balice by Kraków, not far from their residence in Saybusch (Żywiec). The occasion was the engagement of their daughter Renata to Prince Hieronim Mikołaj Radziwiłł (1885–1945) and Neue Freie Presse reported that around that time the noble party had been on an excursion to Wola-Justowska (now part of Kraków)[a]. It is therefore unlikely that the archduke left the area around Kraków during the period the Kaisermanövern lasted.
That some archduke at some stage visited some brothel in Királyhida is of course possible but it would not have been Karl Stephan during the great exercises by Sopron in 1908. Most likely the whole episode is inspired by hearsay and enhanced by the author's urge to heap dirt on the Austrian elites.
The Good Soldier Švejk in Captivity
Stephan is mentioned also in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí and the context is the same: his alleged visit to Zum Kukuruzkolben during the manoeuvres in 1908.[1]
Jinak Királyhida je zaprášené město. Obyvatelé nevědí, jestli jsou Němci nebo Maďaři. Městské děvy pěstují flirt s důstojníky vojenského tábora z Brucku. Také tu kvete prostituce jako všude v Maďárii. Jsou tam jen dvě památnosti, zříceniny cukrovaru a vykřičený dům U kukuřičního klasu, který ráčil poctíti svou návštěvou arcivévoda Štěpán roku 1908 za velkých manévrů.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Od opuštěného pavilónku, kde dřív za času míru fotografoval nějaký fotograf vojáky trávící zde mládí na vojenské střelnici, bylo vidět dole v údolí u Litavy červené elektrické světlo v bordelu „U kukuřičného klasu“, který poctil svou návštěvou arcivévoda Štěpán při velkých manévrech u Šoproně v roce 1908 a kde se scházela denně důstojnická společnost.
Also written:Arcivévoda ŠtěpánHašekHabsburg–Tescheni Károly Istvánhu
This is the first time the good soldier shows his ruthless streak, or rather: he shows that he doesn't suffer fools. Towards people of his own rank he can afford to be straightforward in this respect, against his superiors he needs to be cunning and use irony as a weapon in such a way that he doesn't get caught.
Background
This figure doesn't seem to have any obvious model from real life, unlike for instance his superior Major Wenzl. Mikulášek is not an uncommon surname but is mostly found in Moravia. In the recruitment area of Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 it is very rare so it is unlikely that anyone with this name served with Jaroslav Hašek in the regiment[a]. More frequent in the area is the similar Mikolášek[b] and this variation provides a few clues, although pretty airy.
IR. 91 in 1915
In Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 some ZugsführerJan Mikolášek served together with Hašek. He was assigned to the 13th company and was taken prisoner by Pogorelcy east of Khorupan on 11 September 1915[c]. Hašek may have known him but it would be far-fetched to claim that this person was a "model" for Mikulášek. At most, it could be a question of name-borrowing. Mikolášek had first served in the army in 1908 and this doesn't fit the description in The Good Soldier Švejk of a very young soldier. In 1915 Mikolášek would have been around 28.
An episode in 1920
In both his books about Hašek Jan Berwid-Buquoy wrote that some Jan Mikolášek told him about an episode that was very similar to the one described in The Good Soldier Švejk. According to this story, Mikolášek was in 1920 assigned to help Rudolf Lukas when he started serving in the Czechoslovak ministry of defence. Hašek dropped by to greet his former commander and engaged in a conversation with Mikolášek who was sitting on a table. When Lukas returned he allegedly ordered Hašek to get find the pistol to shoot Mikolášek down from the table[d]!
At first glance this appears as a "good story" which it probably also is. That such an episode happened in Prague in 1920 is impossible because Rudolf Lukas served in Budějovice and Ružomberok that year and was transferred to the ministry of defence as late as 1 June 1921. Thus any such meeting must have occured during the summer of 1921 (Hašek left Prague on 25 August). It is also odd that Lukas during conversations with Morávek[f] didn't mention that he ever met Hašek after the war and to my knowledge there are no others who can witness that such a meeting actually took place.
Mikolášek is a mystery in his own right because no-one in Hašek's circle mentions him in their various books and he also remained unknown to modern biographers. Mikolášek was born in 1900 and was still alive in 1982. Jan Berwid-Buquoy provided pictures of him in both his books. It is also claimed that he was Hašek's intimate friend and even attended the funeral. Furthermore, Mikolášek was of the opinion that Hašek didn't die from natural causes, that he was poisoned.
Herostrates?
According to Jan Berwid-Buquoy's latest book (2011) Mikolášek also claimed that he lent Hašek 50 crowns on the condition that he was featured in The Good Soldier Švejk. Hašek also allegedly borrowed another 50 crows provided that Mikolášek was given a part in the play From Karlín to Bratislava in 365 days[e]. He was also promised a meeting with Egon Erwin Kisch and Emil Artur Longen, but this never materialised. Nor was he ever paid back the money he had lent Hašek. In the play, some Mikulášek is actually the main character and a stoker on the boat that carries out the long journey. The play was first performed just before new year 1921 so it is unlikely that it was written during the summer when Hašek was still in Prague. Radko Pytlík informs that the play was written by Hašek and Longen at Lipnice at the end of 1921[g].
One could also imagine that someone who took a financial risk just to get his name into a certain novel would be prone to invent the entire story as well (or parts of it), a Herostratus in a miniature shape. If he knew Hašek that well, why didn't he contact recognised Hašek-experts and shared whatever information he had? (Herostrates surely would have done).
Mikulášek also features in the play From Karlín to Bratislava, co-written by Jaroslav Hašek, Emil Artur Longen and Egon Erwin Kisch.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Nadporučík Lukáš,“ řekl přistupuje k Mikuláškovi nepříliš pevným krokem, „a jak vy se jmenujete?“ Mikulášek mlčel. Lukáš přitáhl si židli před Mikuláška na stole, sedl si, dívaje se na něho nahoru, řekl: „Švejku, přineste mně z kufru služební revolver.“ Mikulášek po celou dobu, co Švejk hledal v kufru, mlčel a jen se vyděšeně díval na nadporučíka. Jestli se v té chvíli pochopil, že sedí na stole, byl jistě ještě zoufalejší, poněvadž jeho nohy dotýkaly se kolen sedícího nadporučíka. „Jářku, jak se jmenujete, člověče?“ volal nahoru na Mikuláška nadporučík.
Die „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in Österreich1983
Venkov,3.11.1907
Etelka Kakonyi is mentioned 7 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Etelka Kakonyi
was the wife of the ironmongers Gyula Kakonyi in Soproni utca in Királyhida. Oberleutnant Lukáš fell for her in the theatre in Királyhida and the subsequent letter of admiration was the reason for the huge scandal that ensued after her husband had read the letter. We are also told that she was a German from Sopron.
Background
Mrs. Kakonyi has no obvious model, although it can't be ruled out that the literary character was inspired by some real person and event. It can however be stated with near certainty that no person carrying this name lived in Bruck an der Leitha or Királyhida in 1915[a].
It is also striking that the author assigns a Hungarian name to a German lady from Sopron, further evidence to suggest that this figure has no real-life model.
Short stories
The first name Etelka had appeared in Hašek's writing already in 1905 and recurred a few times over the years[b].
The Good Soldier Švejk in Captivity
There is a precedent to the story of the scandal involving the Kakonyi couple, and it is from the author himself. It had appeared already in 1917 in the short novel Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí, although in a partly different setting.[1]
Švejk nalévat koňak, který je tak důležitou oporou politické psychologie němectví. Pak Dauerling napsal nějaké psaní a odevzdal je Švejkovi s rozkazem, že musí hledět to psaní doručit za jakýchkoliv okolností a čekat na odpověď. Adresa zněla: Királyhida, Pozsony utca 13, Etelka Kakonyi.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Dobrá, tak vy, zítra ráno asi tak v deset hodin, půjdete dolů do města, najdete ten dům a půjdete nahoru do prvního patra a odevzdáte paní Kákonyiové toto psaní.“
[II.3] „Je to věc náramně důležitá, Švejku,“ poučoval ho dál, „opatrnosti nikdy nezbývá, a proto, jak vidíte, není tam adresa. Já se na vás úplně spoléhám, že odevzdáte to psaní v pořádku. Poznamenejte si ještě, že ta dáma se jmenuje Etelka, tedy zapište si paní Etelka Kakonyiová. Ještě vám říkám, že musíte to psaní diskretně doručit za všech okolností a čekat na odpověď. Že máte čekat na odpověď, o tom je už napsáno v dopise. Co ještě chcete?“
[II.3] Dobrá, tak vy, zítra ráno asi tak v deset hodin, půjdete dolů do města, najdete ten dům a půjdete nahoru do prvního patra a odevzdáte paní Kakonyiové toto psaní.
[II.4] Spíš by snad vás zajímal článek v ,Komárenském večerníku’, kde se o vás tvrdí, že jste se pokoušel znásilnit paní Kákonyiovou přímo v jídelně při obědě u přítomnosti jejího manžela, kterého jste ohrožoval šavlí a nutil ho, aby zacpal ručníkem ústa své manželky, aby nekřičela.
[II.4] Je s ním nějaký sapér Vodička, u kterého po rvačce našli, když je přivedli na hauptwachu, váš dopis, který jste poslal paní Kákonyiové.
[II.4] „Pane nadporučíku,“ obrátil se na něho důvěrně plukovník, „ruku na srdce. Kolikrát jste se vyspal s paní Kákonyiovou?“
[II.5] Našel jsem šťastně paní Kákonyiovou a mohu říct, že je to velice hezká ženská, já ji sice viděl jenom, když plakala...
Die „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in Österreich1983
Duch času,19.7.1903
Svět zvířat,1.4.1909
Gyula Kakonyi is mentioned 11 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Gyula Kakonyi
was the owner of an ironmonger's shop in Soproni utca, married to Etelka Kakonyi. He did nok take lightly to the letter from Oberleutnant Lukáš that Švejk and Sappeur Vodička delivered, intended for his wife. The ensueing row led to a massive brawl between Magyars and Czechs out on the street. The affair ended up in numerous Hungarian newspapers, and became a huge scandal, further complicating the inter-ethnic relations in the empire. His first name is revealed only once, in the article by deputy Barabás in Pester Lloyd.
Background
Mr. Kakonyi has no obvious model, although it can't be ruled out that Jaroslav Hašek was inspired by some real person and event. It can be stated with near certainty that no person carrying this name lived in Bruck or Királyhida at the time[a].
Short stories
The name Gyula Kakonyi appears several times in Hašek's writing, first in 1903[b] and 1904[c]. In 1907 his name appeared in another and longer story[d]. The surname Kakonyi is found in two more stories. In all these short stories the context is entrirely different from the plot in The Good Soldier Švejk, and two of them are set in Slovakia.
The first story, "The Adventures of Gyula Kakonyi", was also published in the USA, but the text here differs somewhat from the original in Národní listy[f] for unknown reasons.
Pigs and sledges
An amusing item is found in Svět zvířat on 1 April 1909. In a presumed April Fool's joke Kákonyi rides on a slegde on the frozen Lake Balaton, pulled by two pigs! The magazine even provided a photo of the scene![e]
The Good Soldier Švejk in Captivity
There is a precedent to the story of the scandal involving the Kakonyi couple. It had appeared already in 1917 in the short novel Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí, although in a partly different setting. Here the author lets Kakonoyi live in Pozsony utca 13, another street that didn't exist. Gyula Kakonyi owns a stationary shop, and he welcomes Švejk with a tirade against the Austrians, i.e. the peoples of Cisleithania, including Czechs.[1]
Pan Kákonyi tedy pokračoval. Rozebral poznovu, co to znamená souručenství Maďarů s Rakušany. Proklel Švejkovi i Dauerlingovi matku. Řekl: "My známe své Rakušany," a dál rozvinul svůj program. Kdo mu poleze za ženou, toho srazí schodů.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Ten krám patří nějakému Maďarovi Kakonyimu. Víte, co je to Maďar? Tak himmelherrgott, víte nebo nevíte? Víte, dobře. Nahoře nad krámem je první patro a tam on bydlí. Víte o tom? Že nevíte, krucifix, tak já vám povídám, že tam bydlí. Stačí vám to? Stačí, dobře. Kdyby vám to nestačilo, tak vás dám zavřít. Máte poznamenáno, že se ten chlap jmenuje Kakonyi? Dobrá, tak vy, zítra ráno asi tak v deset hodin, půjdete dolů do města, najdete ten dům a půjdete nahoru do prvního patra a odevzdáte paní Kakonyiové toto psaní.“
[II.3] Za tohoto poutavého a poučného rozhovoru našel Švejk s Vodičkou konečně železářský krám pana Kákonyie na Sopronyi utcza čís. 16.
[II.3] Švejk s Vodičkou stáli před dveřmi bytu pana Kákonyiho. Než přitlačil na knoflík zvonku, poznamenal Švejk: „Slyšel jsi někdy, Vodičko, že vopatrnost je matkou moudrosti?“
[II.3] Rozčilený pán se chtěl vrhnout na Švejka, který stál klidně a spokojeně před ním, ale starý sapér Vodička, sledující každý jeho pohyb, podrazil mu nohu, vytrhl mu psaní z ruky, kterým stále mával, strčil do kapsy, a když se pan Kákonyi vzchopil, chytil ho Vodička, odnesl ke dveřím, otevřel si dveře jednou rukou, a už bylo slyšet, jak na schodech se něco válí.
[II.3] Po rozčileném pánovi zůstal jen ubrousek. Švejk ho zvedl, zaklepal slušně na dveře pokoje, odkud před pěti minutami vyšel pan Kákonyi a odkud bylo slyšet ženský pláč.
[II.3] Srazil paty dohromady, zasalutoval a vyšel na chodbu. Na schodech nebylo znát tak dalece nijakých stop zápasu, zde dle předpokladů Vodičkových odehrávalo se vše úplně lehce. Jedině potom u vrat v průjezdě našel Švejk utržený nákrční límeček. Tam se patrně, když pan Kákonyi zoufale se zachytil domovních vrat, aby nebyl vyvlečen na ulici, odehrával poslední akt této tragedie.
[II.3] Zato na ulici bylo rušno. Pana Kákonyiho odtáhli do protějšího průjezdu, kde ho polívali vodou, a uprostřed ulice bil se starý sapér Vodička jako lev proti několika honvédům a honvéd-husarům, kteří se zastali svého krajana.
[II.4] K jaké národnosti patřili vojáci z nedalekého vojenského tábora v Brucku nad Litavou, kteří přepadli a ztrýznili tamějšího obchodníka pana Gyulu Kákonyie?
[II.4] Když se mě pan auditor zeptal, proč jsme vtrhli do bytu toho pana Kákonyiho, tak jsem mu prostě řek: ,Já myslel, že se nejlépe s panem Kákonyim poznáme, když ho budem navštěvovat.’ Pan auditor se mě pak už na nic neptal a měl už toho dost.
Růženka
was a well known Czech waitress at Zum schwarzen Lamm who was owed money by every one-year volunteer who had ever set his foot in Bruck. Her friend was Sappeur Vodička.
Background
Růženka appears to have had a real-life model, a certain Růženka who according to Bohumil Vlček worked at "U růže" (Zur Rose)[a]. The author may thus have used the same model for two different fictional persons. See Zur weißen Rose.
Bohumil Vlček
V lágru nás nic nepoutalo, proto po zaměstnáni navštěvovali jsme v Mostě hostinec u "Růže" kde nás obsluhovala naše česká číšnice waitress Růženka / jak v románě též o tom zmínka :/ Tam byl stalým hostem Jaroslav Hašek, kterého jsem tam též osobni poznal. Většinou do restaurace chodili Češi, jednoročáci a i mužstvo od náhr. praporu.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Vodička bydlíval před léty v Praze na Bojišti, a proto při takovém setkání nezbylo nic jiného, než že oba zašli do hospody „U černého beránka“ v Brucku, kde byla známá číšnice Růženka, Češka, které byli všichni čeští jednoročáci, kteří kdy byli v lágru, nějaký obnos dlužni.
[II.3] Vždyť jsem ti to všecko, když jsme seděli s tou českou kelnerkou, vykládal, že nesu psaní vod svýho obrlajtnanta, že je to naprosté tajemství.
Vodička is mentioned 79 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Vodička
was a Czech sapper who served with a unit from Styria (see Die Steirer) garrisoned in Brucker Lager. Vodička was an old acquaintance of Švejk from Prague and had previously lived in the street Na Bojišti where he got to know Švejk. At the start of the war, Vodička had served at the front by Przemyśl. Otherwise, it is revealed that he is ill-tempered, uncomplicated, and brutal in deeds and words. The identity of his original regiment is not revealed, but the sequence where he mentions Landwehrsoldat Purkrábek indicates that it was k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 16.
Švejk was on his way to Soproni utca 16 to carry out his delicate errand for Oberleutnant Lukáš when he bumped into his former neighbour. They proceeded to Zum schwarzen Lamm to drink for the old days, and Švejk unwisely revealed his delicate mission to his former neighbour. Vodička hated Magyars, was naturally quarrelsome, and had also tanked up a bit. The ensuing scandal is well known to anyone who has read The Good Soldier Švejk with attention.
His first name was revealed by Landwehrsoldat Purkrábek during a fight in Pausdorf. When Vodička took Purkrábek for a Hungarian and was about to hit him, the latter exclaimed: "Tonda, it's me, Purkrábek, from 16th landwehr!"
Background
For this figure, Hašek surely borrowed the surname and some attributes and biographical details from people he knew. The family name Vodička was widespread [a], so there would have been many to choose from. The name was common around Lipnice where the author lived when he wrote this part of the novel.
Josef Vodička - a probable inspiration
The most likely prototype for the irate sapper is no doubt Josef Vodička from the Olomouc district in Moravia. He fits well concerning age and temperament, but most importantly, he knew Jaroslav Hašek well from their time in Totskoye and the Legions[c]. See Josef Vodička for more information.
Others?
In Prague lived at the time of Hašek many Vodička, many with the first name Antonín. In 1910, no Vodička was known to live in Na Bojišti, but a certain Antonín (tailor) lived around the corner in Kateřinská ulice 1476/36. Several more Vodička also lived in this area of Nové město where Hašek grew up and frequented later in his life.
Jan Berwid-Buquoy claims that the inspiration for Sappeur Vodička was Stanislav Vodička (1895-1918), one of the leaders of the so-called Rumburk rebellion in 1918. Vodička was executed due to his involvement in the episode. Berwid-Buquoy does not underpin the claim with evidence, apart from stating that Vodička hated Germans and Hungarians[b]. Otherwise, the theory has little substance. Vodička was not a person that Hašek knew (although he would have heard of him when The Good Soldier Švejk was written); he was only twenty in 1915 and had no obvious connection with Prague or Királyhida.
The Good Soldier Švejk in Captivity
Vodička is not mentioned in this version of Švejk, despite the description of the brawl in Királyhida being similar to that found in The Good Soldier Švejk.[1]
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nadporučík zabalil se opět do deky, ze které ho Švejk vytáhl, a spal dál, zatímco Švejk putoval dál do Királyhidy. Najít Sopronyi utczu čís. 16 nebylo by bývalo tak těžké, kdyby ho náhodou nebyl potkal starý sapér Vodička, který byl přidělen k „štajerákům“, jejichž kasárna byla dole v lágru.
[II.3] „Jednou ti už takovýho kluka maďarskýho držím za chřtán v Pausdorfě, kam jsme šli my saperáci na víno, a chci mu dát jednu überšvunkem přes kokos v tý tmě, poněvadž jsme hned, jak to začlo, praštili láhví do visací lampy, a von najednou začne křičet: ,Tondo, dyť to jsem já, Purkrábek, vod 16. landwehr!’
[II.4] A tak se rozešel dobrý voják Švejk se starým sapérem Vodičkou. "Wenn die Leute auseinander gehen, da sagen sie Auf Wiedersehen."
No obvious inspiration for this figure has been identified, and the name itself may simply be a re-use of the representative of Banka Slavia from [II.1]. It was also strange that a Czech soldier served in a regiment that was recruited from Kraków and surroundings.
Purkrábek is a very rare surname inasmuch as only 43 persons in the entire Czech Republic carries it[a]. The near identical Pulkrábek is also rare but still much more widespread (286). In Prague lived at Hašek's time only a few Purkrábek. One was the musician Narcius (born 1880) and another was a waiter Oldřich, later pub landlord, born in 1870, who lived in Nusle. It wouldn't be a big surprise if Hašek knew or knew about one of them, but the rest is speculation.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Jednou ti už takovýho kluka maďarskýho držím za chřtán v Pausdorfě, kam jsme šli my saperáci na víno, a chci mu dát jednu überšvunkem přes kokos v tý tmě, poněvadž jsme hned, jak to začlo, praštili láhví do visací lampy, a von najednou začne křičet: ,Tondo, dyť to jsem já, Purkrábek, vod 16. landwehr!’
Mejstřík was not an uncommon surname in Prague, and quite a few of them lived in areas that Hašek knew well.
Karel Mejstřík was someone that Hašek probably knew about but the connection between this officer and the liteary figure surely stops there.
Mejstřík
was some Czech soldier who Sappeur Vodička could relate had led the way in a brawl with the hungarians by Neusiedler See. Mejstřík was a huge man, with paws as big as Bílá Hora.
Background
Mejstřík is a quite common surname, most predominant around Kutná Hora[a]. In Prague there lived several at the time so that Hašek knew some of them is possible. Several of them were residents of areas that Hašek knew well, and one of them, a postman, even a few steps from U kalicha.
In k.u.k. Heer
In the recruitment area of Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 the surname is extremely rare (only 4 persons in 2022) so it is not surprising that the surname is totally absent from the regiment's Verlustliste[b].
In the Legions
In the Legions 15 Mejstřík are listed but many of them joined after Hašek had already left. There is however one that Hašek may have know come across. His name was Karel Mejstřík (1886-1945), was from Zbraslav by Prague, served with Infanterieregiment Nr. 11 as an Oberleutnant, was captured by Sokal om 27 July 1915 and one month later he applied to become a Czech volunteer. Thus he would have served in 9. Infanteriedivision like Hašek but it is unlikely that the two met already in k.u.k. Heer. He was the only Mejstřík who already was a member of the Legions when Hašek joined on 29 June 1916. By the time he left the Czechoslovak army in Russia he had advanced to staff major and his military career continued in Czechoslovakia. Mejstřík was killed during the Prague uprising in May 1945.
No obvious source of inspiration
Regardless of whether Hašek knew some Mejstřík or not: it would surely be nothing more than name-borrowing and in the end it has not been possible to identify any particular person who could have served as an inspiration for the literary soldier with the big paws.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] My si sedneme naproti nim, jen jsme si überšvunky položili před sebe na stůl, a povídáme si: ,Vy pacholci, my vám dáme láňok,’ a nějakej Mejstřík, kerej měl ploutev jako Bílá hora, se hned nabíd, že si půjde zatančit a že nějakýmu syčákovi vezme holku z kola.
[II.3] Tak ten náš Mejstřík skočí do kola a tu největší fešandu chce brát jednomu honvédovi, kerej začal něco brebentit, a Mejstřík mu hned jednu hodil, ten se svalil, my už hned chytli überšvunky, votočili jsme si je kolem ruky, aby nám bajonety neulítly, skočili mezi ně, já jsem vykřik: ,Vinnej nevinnej, berte to po řadě!’ a už to šlo jako na másle.
[II.3] Byla udělaná do našeho Mejstříka a šla s ním potom nahoru po cestě na Királyhidu, kde jsou pod lesem sušírny na seno.
Paroubek
was the owner of a gin-mill in Libeň who Švejk tells Sappeur Vodička about to timely remind him of the dangers of violent excess. A Slovak guest claimed that Paroubek watered the spirit and swore at him, calling him a crook, Šaščínská bestie and so on. Paroubek reacted violently and chased the guest down to Invalidovna, onwards to Žižkov and Malešice before he caught him. But the hunt didn't pay in the end because the other guests had served themselves copiously when he returned to his shop.
Background
Although several Paroubek, Paraubek or Parubek lived in Prague at Hašek's time, none had the address Libeň or seemed to own a gin-mill. In the Libeň address book from 1896, these surnames are not found at all [a]. The name is otherwise not very common[b].
Kořalečník
According to dictionaries, the word means liquor trader or an alcoholic addicted to liquor. Still, in this context, the author no doubt refers to the owner of a liquor shop or a pub selling spirits. Zenny Sadlon uses the term gin-mill owner whereas Cecil Parrott opted for the more diffuse pubkeeper.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Já jsem znal nějakýho kořalečníka Paroubka v Libni. Jednou se mu tam opil nějakej dráteník jalovcovou a začal nadávat, že je to slabý, že do toho leje vodu, že kdyby drátoval sto let a za celej vejdělek si koupil samou jalovcovou a vypil ji najednou, že by moh ještě chodit po provaze a nosit ho, Paroubka, v náručí. Potom ještě řekl Paroubkovi, že je huncút a šaščínská bestie, tak ho milej Paroubek chyt, votlouk mu jeho pastě na myši a dráty vo hlavu a vyhodil ho ven a mlátil ho po ulici tyčí na stahování rolety až dolů na Invalidovnu a hnal ho, jak byl zdivočelej, přes Invalidovnu v Karlíně až nahoru na Žižkov, vodtud přes Židovský pece do Malešic, kde vo něj konečně tyč přerazil, takže se moh vrátit nazpátek do Libně.
[II.3] U kořalny bylo napolovic stažený roló, u kterýho stáli dva policajti, taky silně nabraný, když dělali vevnitř pořádek. Dopolovic všechno vypitý, na ulici prázdnej soudek vod rumu, a pod pultama našel Paroubek dva vožralý chlapy, kteří byli přehlédnutý policajty a kteří, když je vytáhl, chtěli mu platit po dvou krejcařích, víc prej žitný nevypili.
One of the two Jetzbacher that were wounded in the war.
Verlustliste Nr. 495,30.11.1916
Jetzbacher
was a swine of a captain who, according to a story Sappeur Vodička told Švejk, was shot by his own soldiers by Przemyśl.
Background
Jetzbacher is an extremely rare surname, and in contemporary Czechia, it does not exist. Even in the German-speaking neighbouring countries, there are very few. Newspaper items suggest that the name was most frequent in Herzogtum Salzburg.
In Verlustliste, only two appear, and both were wounded rank-and-file soldiers from Herzogtum Salzburg. Thus, it is no surprise that no such named officer served in k.u.k. Wehrmacht in 1914 or earlier, as confirmed by Schematismus for both k.u.k. Heer and k.k. Landwehr.
One must therefore assume that the name is invented and if some captain was shot by his own soldiers by Przemyśl, he was called something else.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Když jsme byli na frontě u Přemyšlu, tak tam byl s námi hejtman Jetzbacher, svině, které nebylo rovno pod sluncem. Ten nás uměl tak sekýrovat, že nějakej Bitterlich od naší kumpačky, Němec, ale moc takovej hodnej člověk, se kvůli němu zastřelil. Tak jsme si řekli, že až to začne z ruský strany hvízdat, že taky náš hejtman Jetzbacher žít nebude.
Ehrenhalle des k. k. Landwehr, des k. k. Landsturmes und der k. k. Gendarmerie,1915-1917
Hermann Bitterlich seems to have been shot during fighting in the vicinity of Przemyśl, but suicide with a shot in the stomach sounds unlikely.
Nachricthen über Verwundete und Kranke,16.11.1915
Bitterlich
was a soldier who committed suicide because of Hauptmann Jetzbacher. He was German but a good man and served in the same company as Sappeur Vodička during the fighting by Przemyśl.
Background
Bitterlich is a rare surname and is today virtually non-existent in Czechia (5 persons in 2022)[a]. At Švejk's time it was also rare but somewhat more common, mainly in the German-speaking areas of Bohemia.
Schluckenau
In Verlustliste the name appears 11 times (9 persons) where three were reported fallen[b]. All the deaths appeared from the summer of 1915 onwards and could as such not have occured by Przemyśl[1]. Seven of the Bitterlich had Heimatrecht in hejtmanstvíŠluknov (Schluckenau) on the border of Saxony by Rumburk and thus mostly served with k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 9 or Infanterieregiment Nr. 42. All those entered in the casualty list were from North Bohemia so it appears that the name's origin was in this area.
Inconclusive
It is impossible to guess where Hašek picked up this rare surname from. Anyway, he probably just attached it to some event he had read or heard about (or invented the story).
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Když jsme byli na frontě u Přemyšlu, tak tam byl s námi hejtman Jetzbacher, svině, které nebylo rovno pod sluncem. Ten nás uměl tak sekýrovat, že nějakej Bitterlich od naší kumpačky, Němec, ale moc takovej hodnej člověk, se kvůli němu zastřelil.
Voborník is not a common surname[a] but still frequent enough to underpin the assumption that Hašek may have known someone with this surname. It is most widespread in eastern Bohemia but not uncommon even elsewhere. In Prague were in 1910 several Voborník listed in the address book, and some of them lived in the areas of Nové město and Vinohrady where Hašek spent most of his time before World War I. Still, none of them were locksmiths or lived in Neklanova ulice[b]. Indeed, not a single locksmith lived in this street. One must therefore assume that Hašek's choice of name for this character is pretty random.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Z toho tě, Vodičko, vyvedu. Víš, kde je na Vyšehradě Neklanova ulice? Tam měl dílnu zámečník Voborník. Byl to člověk spravedlivej a jednoho dne, když se vrátil domů z flámu, tak si s sebou přived ještě jednoho flamendra spát.
[II.3] ,Vidíš, Toníčku, kdybyste byli nepřišli dva, tak jsem ti jenom zahrála a nehodila ti na hlavu decimálku.`
Vrchlický
(real name Emil Bohuslav Frída) was a Czech poet and translator, a pupil of Victor Hugo. He translated several classics into Czech, including Goethe, Baudelaire, Hugo, Shakespeare, Byron, Shelley, Dante, Petöfi and Ibsen. He is regarded as one of the greatest Czech poets ever and was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Price.
That Vrchlický ever used the term "in love up to the ears" or something similar has not been verified. It is, anyway, a pretty common expression. Švejk's add-on, Kapitales Frau (Capital lady), likely did not come from Vrchlický, instead reflecting the broken German that Hašek assigned to his hero. Vrchlický, as the translator of Goethe, would surely not have made a fundamental error like making Frau a neutral gender.
Kafka not impressed
On 18 December 1911Franz Kafka made a note in his diary that he was present at the first performance of Vrchlický's play "Hippodamie" at Národní divadlo. Kafka didn't think much of it; in fact, he deemed it a lousy play without any sense or direction (a).
Franz Kafka, Tagebücher
Jetzt am Abend, wo mir die Gedanken freier zu werden anfangen und ich vielleicht zu einigem fähig wäre, muß ich ins Nationalteater zu "Hippodamie", Uraufführung von Vrchlicky.
18. XII 11 Vorgestern Hippodamie. Elendes Stück. Ein Herumirren in der griechischen Mythologie ohne Sinn und Grund. Aufsatz Kvapils auf dem Teaterzettel, der zwischen den Zeilen die während der ganzen Aufführung sichtbare Ansicht ausspricht, daß eine gute Regie (die hier aber nichts als Nachahmung Reinhardts war) eine schlechte Dichtung zu einem großen teatralischem Werk machen könne. Traurig muß das alles für einen nur etwas herumgekommenen Tschechen sein.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Pane,“ řekl důstojně Švejk, „to psaní jsem psal já. Ich geschrieben, kein Oberleutnant. Podpis jen tak, falešný, Unterschrift, Name, falsch. Mně se vaše paní velice líbí. Ich liebe Ihre Frau. Já jsem do vaší paní zamilovanej až po uši, jak říkal Vrchlický. Kapitales Frau.“
