The Good Soldier Švejk

	Napoléon Bonaparte
*15.8.1769 Ajaccio - †5.5.1821 St.Helena
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Napoleon

D.S. Merežkovskij (Д.С. Мережко́вский),  1929.

Sur le champ de bataille de Slavkov

Alois Slovák,  1923.

Napoléon is named 9 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Napoléon has the honour of being the first person to be mentioned in the novel. He is also mentioned in [I.1], and later in the novel he appears several times.

Švejk mentions that Napoléon was five minutes late at Waterloo and his whole reputation subsequently went down the toilet. This was when the train stopped before Tábor in [II.1]. At the end of this chapter his retreat from Moscow is mentioned.

Background

Napoléon was emperor of France from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814. He had gradually assembled power in the aftermath of the French Revolution, aided by his unique military talent and many successes on the battlefield. He conquered and ruled over most of western and central Europe and for a couple of years also held power in Egypt. A failed campaign in Russia in 1812 weakened his position, and laid the foundations for his ultimate defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

Several battles that took place during the Napoleonic wars are mentioned in The Good Soldier Švejk: Leipzig, Aspern and Waterloo. Napoléon emerged victorious from the only major battle he was involved in on Czech territory. By Austerlitz (now Slavkov u Brna) Napoleon's army defeated Austrian and Russian forces on 2 December 1805. This battle is by many historians regarded as his greatest military achievement ever.

Quote(s) from the novel

[Úvod] Velká doba žádá velké lidi. Jsou nepoznaní hrdinové, skromní, bez slávy a historie Napoleona. Rozbor jejich povahy zastínil by slávu Alexandra Macedonského. Dnes můžete potkat v pražských ulicích ošumělého muže, který sám ani neví, co vlastně znamená v historii nové velké doby.

[I.1] Palivec byl známý sprosťák, každé jeho druhé slovo byla zadnice nebo hovno. Přitom byl ale sečtělý a upozorňoval každého, aby si přečetl, co napsal o posledním předmětě Victor Hugo, když líčil poslední odpověď' staré gardy Napoleonovy Angličanům v bitvě u Waterloo.

[I.10] A tak slova Napoleonova "Na vojně se mění situace každým okamžikem" došla i zde svého úplného potvrzení.

[I.14.2] Každý z nich je Napoleonem: "Povídal jsem našemu obrstovi, aby telefonoval do štábu, že už to může začít".

[II.1] Napoleon se u Waterloo vopozdil vo pět minut, a byl v hajzlu s celou svou slávou..."

[II.1] Šel sněhy silnice, ve mraze, zahalen v svůj vojenský plášť, jako poslední z gardy Napoleonovy vracející se z výpravy na Moskvu, s tím toliko rozdílem,...

[II.2] Ta napolionská, potom, jak nám vypravovávali, švédský vojny, sedmiletý vojny

[II.2] Tak se pánbůh na ně rozhněval pro tu jejich pejchu a voni zas přijdou k sobě, až budou si vařit lebedu, jako to bejvalo za napolionský vojny.

[II.3] Dělali to Švédové a Španělé za třicetileté války, Francouzi za Napoleona a teď v budějovickém kraji budou to dělat zase Madaři a nebude to spojeno s hrubým znásilňováním.

	Alexander the Great
*20.6.356 BC Pella - †10.6.323 BC Babylon
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Alexander the Great is introduced by the author as someone that Švejk exceeds the reputation of!

Alexander re-appears several times later in the novel, including in the author's reflections on the officer servant occupation in [I.14]. Here it is revealed that even Alexander had his own Putzfleck.

Background

Alexander the Great was king of Macedonia. The Greek city states had already been united by his father, Philip II of Macedon. Alexander conquered Persia, Egypt and a number of other kingdoms and reached northern India. The conquests led to a rapid spread of Greek culture on the Eurasian continent. Thus he played a major part in the future extending of Greek culture and language.

Quote(s) from the novel

[Úvod] Velká doba žádá velké lidi. Jsou nepoznaní hrdinové, skromní, bez slávy a historie Napoleona. Rozbor jejich povahy zastínil by slávu Alexandra Macedonského. Dnes můžete potkat v pražských ulicích ošumělého muže, který sám ani neví, co vlastně znamená v historii nové velké doby.

[I.14.2] Instituce důstojnických sluhů je prastarého původu. Zdá se, že již Alexandr Macedonský měl svého pucfleka.

Also written:Alexandr Macedonský Hašek Alexandr Veliký cz Alexander der Große de Mégas Aléxandros gr

	Švejk, Josef
Wikipedia czdeennnpl Search

Josef Lada's first drawing of Švejk, 1921

© Josef Lada, 1955

Švejk is named 2001 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Švejk is mentioned in the first paragraph of the introduction and he is obviously the main character of the novel. He was a dog trader from Prague, who lived by selling bastard animals that he falsified the pedigrees of. Švejk was unmarried and spent a great deal of time in the pubs of the Bohemian capital.

Švejk possessed considerable oral skills, but his mental horizon is still under debate. It is known that he was dismissed from the army due to idiocy, but it is unclear if this was feigned or not. He certainly had a good memory and had read a lot, which indicates that his limited mental abilities may have been stage-play. In the epilogue to Part One, the author explicitly states that he never meant Švejk to be feeble-minded, so that issue should be clear.

Politically, he was the apparently not very active, only brief passages reveal that he was hostile to Austria and the Catholic Church, although he mostly said exactly the opposite. Švejk was occasionally both deceitful and a thief, but in other cases he showed moral substance, particularly towards the end of the novel. He could at times appear detached and cynical - perhaps this was a defence mechanism in the unforgiving surroundings he found himself in.

Švejk came through the war unhurt, but what happened to him at the front is unclear as the novel was never completed. His first name Josef is first used in his confession at c.k. policejní ředitelství in the second chapter. In the course of the novel the main character is mentioned more than 2,000 times in a novel of slightly more than 200,000 words.

Personal information

The author provides little biographical information on his hero, but some details can be read or deduced from the novel.

Very early on the reader is told that the soldier suffers from rheumatism, and made a living by trading dogs. Later it is revealed that his father was Prokop Švejk and the mother Mrs. Antonie Švejková and the soldier seems to have been born in Dražov by Strakonice. At the outbreak of war he must have lived close to U kalicha in Praha II.. Through anecdotes we know that he some years back worked in Moravská Ostrava. Still many years back he was wandering/travelling around and got as far as Bremen. Furthermore he had once lived in Opatovická ulice. We know that he 20 December 1914 served Oberleutnant Lukáš in Prague. As a soldier he had served with in Budějovice, and it was this regiment he rejoined some time after the outbreak of war, probably in early 1915. Švejk had also served as a conscript in Trient (Trento), and this city is a theme that appears in all the three versions of The Good Soldier Švejk (1911, 1917, 1921).

The good soldier's age

At first sight it seems that Švejk's age at the outbreak of war was between 31 and 36 and he was a so called Landsturm-mann (reservist). This can be deduced from the circumstances around the draft at Střelecký ostrov and is also in line with Jaroslav Hašek's own entry into the army. This is however inconsistent with what he himself says in his anecdote about supák Schreiter where it is revealed that he served in the army in late 1912. He could thus at the earliest have started his military service in 1909, and would thus have been born between 1888 and 1891, leaving him aged from 24 to 27 in 1915.

Superarbitrated soldier on manoeuvres?

As the reader of The Good Soldier Švejk would know Švejk was years ago dismissed from the army due to idiocy, but then follows a logical short-circuit: he still took part in military exercises, and several of them: in Tábor, Písek, Velké Meziříčí, and Veszprém. His manoeuvres in South Bohemia may have been inspired by the experiences of Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj, the others rather inspired by news items picked up and memorised by the avid newspaper reader Hašek. That he took part in exercises in 1910 means that he at most could have been 32 that year, so he could not have been born before 1878.

Background

The figure of Švejk is in the end a product of the author's literary creativity, but as with several of the other characters in the plot, he clearly has real-life models. The most obvious of these is the writer himself; he lends several personal qualities and biographical details to his hero. See Jaroslav Hašek for more on this theme.

A borrowed name

The name Josef Švejk itself is by near certainty borrowed from a real person. A young man of that name is registered with home address next to U kalicha from June 1912, and may have lived there also when Jaroslav Hašek invented his good soldier in May 1911. It is quite likely that Jaroslav Hašek knew this man (or knew about him), particularly since they from 1916 both served in České legie. That said he seems to have borrowed little more than the name from him.

Another Josef Švejk that the author surely knew about was MP for the Agrarian Party, and this person is much more likely to have lent the good soldier his name in 1911. The young Josef is however a good candidate for having caused the rebirth of The Good Soldier Švejk in 1917 and not the least in 1921 (it is only now that Švejk is connected to U kalicha). See Josef Švejk for more on this theme.

Offiser's servant Strašlipka

Another often touted inspiration is František Strašlipka, the servant of Oberleutnant Rudolf Lukas from the outbreak of war until the formers capture on 24 September 1915. Apart from his position in the nomenclature of IR. 91, Strašlipka is also believed to have inspired Švejk's incessant story-telling.

Otherwise Švejk's and Strašlipka's biographies differ greatly. Strašlipka was the Putzfleck of Rudolf Lukas from the very start of the war and joined him in the field immediately. Švejk for his part was originally a Landsturm reservist and to judge by his call-up date he was 10 years older than Strašlipka. He was drafted several months later and didn't serve only Oberleutnant Lukáš. Strašlipka was unlike Švejk never super-arbitrated and Švejk also served as a messenger, a role the former never had.

Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj

Last but not least some elements from the experiences of Hašek's good friend Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj (1881 - 1955) can be recognised in The Good Soldier Švejk. This is particularly evident in Part One where the plot is set in civilian life and few of the chapters have any obvious links to the author's own time-line during the early months of the war.

Quote(s) from the novel

[Úvod] Velká doba žádá velké lidi. Jsou nepoznaní hrdinové, skromní, bez slávy a historie Napoleona. Rozbor jejich povahy zastínil by slávu Alexandra Macedonského. Dnes můžete potkat v pražských ulicích ošumělého muže, který sám ani neví, co vlastně znamená v historii nové velké doby. Jde skromně svou cestou, neobtěžuje nikoho, a není též obtěžován žurnalisty, kteří by ho prosili o interview. Kdybyste se ho otázali, jak se jmenuje, odpověděl by vám prostince a skromně: „Já jsem Švejk…“

Sources: Radko Pytlík, Jaroslav Šerák, Jan Morávek, Jan Prchal

Literature

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• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války. Díl I. Jaroslav Hašek 1921
• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války. Díl II. Jaroslav Hašek 1921
• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války. Díl III. Jaroslav Hašek 1922
• Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk während des Weltkrieges Jaroslav Hašek - Grete Reiner (Synek) 1926
• Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk während des Weltkrieges Jaroslav Hašek - Grete Reiner (Projekt Gutenberg) 1926
• Švejk, egy derék katona kalandjai a világháborúban Jaroslav Hašek

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• Dobrý voják Švejk a jiné podivné historky Jaroslav Hašek 1911 (banned), 1912 (re-issued)
• Dobrý voják Švejk Šípy 8.7.1911
• Dobrý voják Švejk Slavie 12.9.1911
• Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí Jaroslav Hašek 1917

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• Hledání Josefa Švejka v archivech Jaroslav Šerák
• The Good Soldier Švejk (novel) International Encyclopedia of the First World War 7.10.2015

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• Divadélko Adria Rudé právo 1.11.1921
• Prager Lokalstücke B., Prager Presse 5.11.1921
• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války Ivan Olbracht, Rudé právo 15.11.1921
• Švejk Alfred Fuchs, Tribuna 18.11.1921
• Kapitola literárně-kominická Karel Vaněk, Rudé právo 18.11.1922
• "Le Brave Soldat Chvéïk" de Jaroslav Hasek Les Nouvelles littéraires 16.4.1932

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• Švejk greift in den Weltkrieg ein. Prager Tagblatt 5.1.1923
• Ein Verein der "Freunde des guten Soldat Schweijk" Budweiser Zeitung 9.11.1932
• Jubilejní vydání Švejka Národní osvobození 26.4.1936
• Haškův Švejk zdrojem inspirace Obrana lidu 14.7.1948

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• Díl I. Večerní České slovo 1.9.1924
• Díl II. Večerní České slovo 2.9.1924
• Díl III. Večerní České slovo 3.9.1924
• Díl IV. Večerní České slovo 4.9.1924
• Díl V. Večerní České slovo 6.9.1924
• Díl VI. Večerní České slovo 10.9.1924
• Díl VII. Večerní České slovo 12.9.1924
• Díl VIII. Večerní České slovo 13.9.1924
• Díl IX. Večerní České slovo 15.9.1924
• Díl X. Večerní České slovo 18.9.1924
• Díl XI. Večerní České slovo 20.9.1924
• Díl XII. Večerní České slovo 22.9.1924
• Díl XIII. Večerní České slovo 25.9.1924
• Díl XIV. Večerní České slovo 27.9.1924
• Díl XV. Večerní České slovo 1.10.1924
• Díl XVI. Večerní České slovo 4.10.1924

	Artemis
Wikipedia czdeenno Search

Mythologie Řekův a Římanův, 1908.

Artemis is mentioned indirectly by the author through the expression "the temple of the goddess in Ephesus". See Temple of Artemis.

Background

Artemis was a Greek goddess, daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo. Artemis was the virgin moon goddess for hunting, healing, chastity and child birth. She was also protector of wild animals and the wilderness. She was often revered as a goddess of fertility. Her Roman equivalent was Diana.

Her named had already appeared directly in an article by Jaroslav Hašek in Čechoslovan on 29 January 1917, but in the Roman version of Diana.

Když se zametá

Quote(s) from the novel

[Úvod] Mám velice rád tohoto dobrého vojáka Švejka, a podávaje jeho osudy za světové války, jsem přesvědčen, že vy všichni budete sympatizovat s tím skromným, nepoznaným hrdinou. On nezapálil chrám bohyně v Efesu, jako to udělal ten hlupák Herostrates, aby se dostal do novin a školních čítanek.

Sources: wikipedia.no

Also written:Ἄρτεμις gr

	Herostratus
Wikipedia czdeenno Search

© GreeceHighDefinition

Herostratus is ridiculed as being exactly the opposite of the unassuming hero of this novel. Herostratus is described as the fool who set fire to the temple in Ephesus in order to get his name in newspapers and text books.

Background

Herostratus (also called Herostrates) set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in 356 BC in order to become known, cf Herostratic fame. He was executed the same year.

This was not the first time Jaroslav Hašek wrote about Herostratus. In a stinging article in Čechoslovan on 29 January 1917 a similar imagery appears. The target is easy to identify although no names are mentioned: Bohdan Pavlů, editor of the competing weekly Čechoslovák in Petrograd.

Sergey Soloukh (2017) also points out the parallel to the story Cena slávy from 1913. The author mixes up the name with Efialtes but it is without doubt Herostrates, Ephesus and the temple of the goddess Diana he has in mind.

Když se zametá

Cena slavý

Quote(s) from the novel

[Úvod] Mám velice rád tohoto dobrého vojáka Švejka, a podávaje jeho osudy za světové války, jsem přesvědčen, že vy všichni budete sympatizovat s tím skromným, nepoznaným hrdinou. On nezapálil chrám bohyně v Efesu, jako to udělal ten hlupák Herostrates, aby se dostal do novin a školních čítanek.

Also written:Herostrates Hašek Herostratos cz

Literature

• Když se zametá ... Jaroslav Hašek, Čechoslovan 29.1.1917 (10.2)
• Cena slavý Jaroslav Hašek, Svět 8.1.1913

	Hašek, Jaroslav Matěj František
*30.4.1883 Praha - †3.1.1923 Lipnice nad Sázavou
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O životě Jaroslava Haška, Zdena Ančík,  1953.

Kopřivy,  10.9.1914.

Hašek is referred to five times in the novel. He signs the introduction as "The author". Then he briefly appears as "I" in the narrative in [I.14] when re-tells his experiences with officer servants. Finally he signs the epilogue to Part I, using his full name.

Background

Hašek was a Czech writer, best known for the unfinished satirical novel The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War. He wrote around 1,500 short stories, six collections of short stories, was the co-author of a poetry book, and also contributed to a few plays and cabarets. Jaroslav Hašek is considered a prominent satirist, and The Good Soldier Švejk, being translated into 54 languages[a] (59 if variations are counted)[1], and is probably the most translated book written in Czech ever.

The novel about Švejk is closely linked to the author's own experiences in k.u.k. Heer in 1915, and also contains numerous autobiographical elements from other periods in his life. For more information on the connection between The Good Soldier Švejk and his author, see Jaroslav Hašek in the 'Who is Who' section.

Quote(s) from the novel

[Úvod] On nezapálil chrám bohyně v Efesu, jako to udělal ten hlupák Herostrates, aby se dostal do novin a školních čítanek. A to stačí.

Autor

[I.14.2] U 91. pluku znal jsem jich několik. Jeden pucflek dostal velkou stříbrnou proto, že uměl báječně péct husy, které kradl...

[I.14.2] Viděl jsem jednoho zajatého důstojnického sluhu, který od Dubna šel s druhými pěšky až do Dárnice za Kyjevem...

[I.14.2] Nikdy nezapomenu toho člověka, který se tak mořil s tím přes celou Ukrajinu...

[I.16] Stane-li se však slovo Švejk novou nadávkou v květnatém věnci spílání, musím se spokojit s tímto obohacením českého jazyka.

Jaroslav Hašek.

Also written:Ярослав Гашек ru Ярослав Гашек ua

Literature

• Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Šerák

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• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války I Jaroslav Hašek 1921
• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války II Jaroslav Hašek 1921
• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války III Jaroslav Hašek 1922
• Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk während des Weltkrieges I Jaroslav Hašek 1926
• Dobrý voják Švejk a jiné podivné historky Jaroslav Hašek 1911/1912
• Trampoty pana Tenkráta Jaroslav Hašek 1912
• Průvodčí cizinců a jiné satiry z cest i domova Jaroslav Hašek 1913
• Můj obchod se psy a jiné humoresky Jaroslav Hašek 1915
• Pepíček Nový a jiné povídky Jaroslav Hašek 1921
• Švejk greift in den Weltkrieg ein. Prager Tagblatt 5.1.1923

	Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand
*18.12.1863 Graz - †28.6.1914 Sarajevo
Wikipedia czdeenhuno Search Švejkův slovník

Franz Ferdinand was the Ferdinand Švejk did not know. The novel starts with Mrs. Müllerová telling Švejk that "they have killed our Ferdinand". Švejk knows two Ferdinands; one is a servant at a chemists and another one collects dog turds. Not until Müllerová reveals that it is the fat religious one from Konopiště do we understand that she is a talking about the fateful assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo.

Background

Franz Ferdinand was a nephew of Kaiser Franz Joseph I. and from 1896 to 1914 heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. He was murdered in Sarajevo 28 June 1914 together with his wife Herzogin Sophie, an event that eventually led to the outbreak of World War I. His full name was Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria von Österreich-Este. He owned Konopiště castle where the family spent much of their time.

Franz Ferdinand's political views where relatively liberal; he opposed preventive warfare against Serbia and he advocated making Austria-Hungary a three-pillar federal state where the Slav nations were put on an equal footing with Germans and Hungarians.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „Tak nám zabili Ferdinanda,“ řekla posluhovačka panu Švejkovi, který opustiv před léty vojenskou službu, když byl definitivně prohlášen vojenskou lékařskou komisí za blba, živil se prodejem psů, ošklivých nečistokrevných oblud, kterým padělal rodokmeny.

Also written:Ferdinand Hašek František Ferdinand cz Ferenc Ferdinánd hu

Literature

• Sarajevský atentát VHÚ

	Mrs. Müllerová
Search Švejkův slovník

České slovo,  11.11.1923.

Müllerová is named 45 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Müllerová was a servant in the house where Švejk lived. The first dialogue in the novel is between the two, they discuss the news of the shots in Sarajevo where Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand and his wife were murdered by Serbian nationalists. She had read about the shootings in the paper so the conversation surely took place on 29 June 1914 (the evening papers from the previous day were printed before the news had arrived).

Mrs. Müllerová is subsequently not mentioned again until Švejk was set free in [I.6]. Then his room had already rented out to someone else.

The next chapter boasts the famous scene where old Mrs. Müllerová pushes Švejk to the military in a wheelchair. The last time the good soldier is at home [I.10] he discovers that the poor old lady had been arrested the very evening she had rolled him off to the draft board and she was now in the concentration camp at Steinhof.

Information about the person Mrs. Müllerová is scarce. It is only revealed that she is/was married, is somewhat elderly, and she is from Nusle. She was the cousin of Mrs. Kejřová.

Background

Jaroslav Hašek doma, Václav Menger,  1935.

"Adresář města Král. Vinohradů",  1912.

Mrs. Müller does not have any obvious prototype so several theories have been proposed through the years. The strongest candidate is put forward by Václav Menger who in his book Jaroslav Hašek doma (1935) stated that a Mrs. Müllerová was a domestic servant in where Hašek's mother lived and where the author often slept over. This was in Velehradská 1411/20 on Vinohrady where his mother lived from 20 May 1908. Jaroslav and his brother Bohuslav were also registered here, Jaroslav until 9 February 1909, and Bohuslav at least until 1912 when their mother died. So whoever was servant her: Hašek would have known her well.

There were at least two female home servants registered att this addess in 1911 but none of them were named Mrs. Müllerová. The two were Marie Kalinová and Josefa Smolčíková. That said the house servant didn't necessarily live at the address where she worked, although this was the most common arrangement.

Radko Pytlík suggests that the name was borrowed from Marie Müllerová, a friend of editor Michal Kacha, one of Hašek's companions from the anarchist movement. Jan Berwid-Buquoy claims that Marie Müllerová was madam at the brothel next door to U kalicha and that Hašek borrowed the name from her.

These are only three of the possibilities but there were many Müller's living in Prague at the time (7537 entries in the police registers between 1850 og 1914, of them 531 on Marie alone), so there is ample scope for further speculation.

Mrs. Müllerová does not figure in the two early versions of The Good Soldier Švejk, but in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí her role is partly taken by Švejk's servant Bohuslav who pushes his master off to the draft board in a wheelchair. This indicates that Müllerová is little more than a name assigned to a literary role.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „Tak nám zabili Ferdinanda,“ řekla posluhovačka panu Švejkovi, který opustiv před léty vojenskou službu, když byl definitivně prohlášen vojenskou lékařskou komisí za blba, živil se prodejem psů, ošklivých nečistokrevných oblud, kterým padělal rodokmeny. Kromě tohoto zaměstnání byl stižen rheumatismem a mazal si právě kolena opodeldokem. „Kerýho Ferdinanda, paní Müllerová?“ otázal se Švejk, nepřestávaje si masírovat kolena, „já znám dva Ferdinandy.

Sources: Václav Menger, Radko Pytlík, Jaroslav Šerák, Jan Berwid-Buquoy

	Sluha u Průši Ferdinand
Search Švejkův slovník

Ferdinand was a servant at drogerie Průša and drank a bottle of hair oil by mistake. He was the first Ferdinand that Švejk knew. See drogerie Kokoška.

Background

Ferdinand is probably modelled on a colleague of the author from his time as a chemist's apprentice in 1898 and 1899. He frequently mentions a Ferdinand in his collection of stories "From the old pharmacy". In these stories the owner of the pharmacy is a certain Kološka, not drogista Průša. See drogerie Kokoška.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „Kerýho Ferdinanda, paní Müllerová?“ otázal se Švejk, nepřestávaje si masírovat kolena, „já znám dva Ferdinandy. Jednoho, ten je sluhou u drogisty Průši a vypil mu tam jednou omylem láhev nějakého mazání na vlasy, a potom znám ještě Ferdinanda Kokošku, co sbírá ty psí hovínka. Vobou není žádná škoda.“

Literature

• Ferdinand Kokoška & spol. Jaroslav Šerák

	Drogista Průša, František
*Votice 17.10.1862 - †Král. Vinohrady 22.5.1915
Search Švejkův slovník

Národní politika,  27.9.1902.

Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy,  1910.

Průša was the owner of the chemist's store where sluha u Průši Ferdinand was an assistant.

Background

Průša was the owner of drogerie Průša at Tylovo náměstí in Vinohrady. Jaroslav Hašek worked here as an apprentice from March 1898 (or later) until September 1899. Exactly when he started is not known, but it happened after he had been dismissed at drogerie Kokoška.

The pharmacist was born in Votice in 1862, was married to Mathilde (b. 1872) and they had the son Rudolf. The family moved to Vinohrady in 1893. Otherwise we know little about him but newspaper adverts reveal that his store existed at least until 1915, the year Průša died. In 1916 Čech reported that his widow had been the victim of fraud, but that the culprit had been arrested and sentenced to 5 months in prison. From the death protocols it transpires that Průša died from a brain stroke, that he suffered from diabetes and lived at Vinohrady čp. 603 when he passed away.

Adverts from a chemist's Fr. Průsa appeared already in 1890 but then from Kamenice nad Lipou. That said there is no doubt that this Průša is the same person as police registers reveal that the son Rudolf was born in the very Kamenice in 1893.

Průša is the first of countless examples of how the author pulled in fragments from his own experiences to create the backdrop for the novel. Even Průša who appears to be a fictional person, is drawn from real life. This is probably the case with most of the apparently fictional figures in the novel. Their role might have been distorted or mystified but the names were rarely thought up.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Jednoho, ten je sluhou u drogisty Průši a vypil mu tam jednou omylem láhev nějakého mazání na vlasy, a potom znám ještě Ferdinanda Kokošku, co sbírá ty psí hovínka. Vobou není žádná škoda.“

Sources: Radko Pytlík, Jaroslav Šerák

Also written:Pruscha de

Literature

• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914
• Kniha zemřelých AHMP
• Ferdinand Kokoška & spol. Jaroslav Šerák
• !Pakostnice! Národní listy 12.12.1890
• Průšův prašek zelený Národní politika 7.5.1908
• Verkaufe billig Prager Tagblatt 18.8.1915
• Assistent lekárnictví podvodníkem Čech 7.3.1916

	Kokoška, Ferdinand
Search Švejkův slovník

Ferdinand Kokoška collected dog turds. He was the second Ferdinand that Švejk knew.

Background

This name is surely inspired by the identically named Mr. Kokoška, the author's boss at drogerie Kokoška in 1898. Hašek was reportedly dismissed here after repainting the face of a cow so it resembled the proprietor. Here the author makes further fun of him by letting him collect dog turds.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Jednoho, ten je sluhou u drogisty Průši a vypil mu tam jednou omylem láhev nějakého mazání na vlasy, a potom znám ještě Ferdinanda Kokošku, co sbírá ty psí hovínka. Vobou není žádná škoda.“

Sources: Václav Menger

	Herzogin Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa
*1.3.1868 Stuttgart - †28.6.1914 Sarajevo
Wikipedia czdeenhuno Search Švejkův slovník

Sophie Chotek, 1868

Sophie is never mentioned by name in the novel, just referred to as "the archduchess who was riding in an automobile i Sarajevo with her archduke". Švejk was obviously not aware that she also had been killed as he talks about her as the widow who will have to find another archduke, an even fatter one. Švejk also "promotes" her to archduchess whereas her title was duchess.

Background

Sophie was a Bohemian noble lady, married to the heir to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones, Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand. She was killed in Sarajevo together with her husband. Sophie was never accepted by the Habsburg imperial family due to her non-royal background. The children of Sophie and Franz Ferdinand therefore had no rights in succession to the throne.

Her full name was Sophie Maria Josephine Albina Gräfin Chotek von Chotkowa und Wognin.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „Práskli ho v Sarajevu, milostpane, z revolveru, vědí. Jel tam s tou svou arcikněžnou v automobilu.“ „Tak se podívejme, paní Müllerová, v automobilu. Jó, takovej pán si to může dovolit, a ani nepomyslí, jak taková jízda automobilem může nešťastně skončit.

Also written:Žofie Chotková cz Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa de Chotek Zsófia hu

Literature

• Sarajevský atentát VHÚ

	God
Wikipedia czdeennnno Search

God as Michelangelo imagined him.

God is named 200 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

God is first referred to by Švejk when he states to Mrs. Müllerová that Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand now rests with God, obviously referring to the Christian God.

God is mentioned directly or indirectly around 200 times in The Good Soldier Švejk, mostly through common expression like "My God", "God's will", "Good Lord" etc. Very common in the word pánbůh, literally "Mr. God", in German "Herr Gott".

The pious field chaplain in [I.12] mentions the Lord an impressive three times in the same breath, albeit under the influence of alcohol.

Background

God is a mythical figure from the Bible and the Qur'an and is the most important symbol in the three monotheistic world religions of Semitic origin: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The word "God" can also have a more general meaning, including polytheistic religions like the old Nordic Ásatrú.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „Tak se podívejme, paní Müllerová, v automobilu. Jó, takovej pán si to může dovolit, a ani nepomyslí, jak taková jízda automobilem může nešťastně skončit. A v Sarajevu k tomu, to je v Bosně, paní Müllerová. To asi udělali Turci. My holt jsme jim tu Bosnu a Hercegovinu neměli brát. Tak vida, paní Müllerová. On je tedy pan arcivévoda už na pravdě boží. Trápil se dlouho?“

[I.12] "Já mám pánaboha rád," ozval se nábožný polní kurát, začínaje škytat, "moc ho mám rád. Dejte mně trochu vína. - Já si pánaboha vážím," pokračoval potom, "moc si ho vážím a ctím. Nikoho si tak nevážím jako jeho." Uhodil pěstí do stolu, až láhve poskočily: "Bůh je vznešená povaha, cosi nadpozemského.

Also written:Bůh cz Gott de

	Kaiser Franz Joseph I.
*18.8.1830 Wien - †21.11.1916 Wien
Wikipedia czdeenhuno Search Švejkův slovník

Franz Joseph soiled by flies. The picture is a personal gift from John Rocarek, Zenny Sadlon, and Mary Keenan Sadlon. Cedar Rapids (Iowa), 30 August 2014.

Franz Joseph I. is mentioned in the first chapter, referred to as "His Imperial Highness" but is crops up several times later in the novel with his real name. He was the theme of the discussion at U kalicha after pubkeeper Palivec revealed that the flies had soiled his portrait.

Background

Franz Joseph I. was emperor of Austria and from Ausgleich in 1867 also crowned king of Hungary. His reign lasted from 1848 to 1916 and is the fourth longest in European history. He ascended the throne when he was 18 years old, after the revolution of 1848. He was regarded as very conservative during his first period in power. The young emperor was initially unpopular and in 1853 he survived an attempt on his life. The next year he married his cousin, Kaiserin Elisabeth (Sisi). They had four children.

The emperor/king suffered a number of personal tragedies: the oldest daughter died when she was two, his brother Maximilian was executed in Mexico, his son and heir Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide, Sisi was murdered, and in 1914 his nephew Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand was shot in Sarajevo. The emperor was quite unpopular amongst Czechs as he refused to be crowned as king of Bohemia.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

In Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí is mentioned several times and Švejk has a picture of him hanging on the wall in his cobbler's shop at Vinohrady. The theme about Švejk wanting to serve his emperor until he is torn to pieces is even more prominent than in the novel. Moreover, the monarch on a few occations appears in Švejk's dreams. The author also dedicates som paragraphs to the emperor's mental and physical condition.[1]

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „To se samo sebou rozumí, paní Müllerová,“ řekl Švejk, konče masírování kolen, „kdybyste chtěla zabít pana arcivévodu, nebo císaře pána, tak byste se jistě s někým poradila.

[I.15] Rozebereme-li jeho duševní schopnosti, dojdeme k přesvědčení, že nebyly o nic lepší těch, které proslavily otlemeného Habsburka Františka Josefa jako notorického idiota.

[II.3] I kdyby se k nám chtěl přidat císař pán, tak jste to nesměl dovolit.

[III.1] Potom Švejk počal mluvit o známých rozkazech, které jim byly přečteny před vstoupením do vlaku. Jeden byl armádní rozkaz podepsaný Františkem Josefem a druhý byl rozkaz arcivévody Josefa Ferdinanda, vrchního velitele východní armády a skupiny, kteréž oba týkaly se událostí na Dukelském průsmyku dne 3. dubna 1915, kdy přešly dva batalióny 28. pluku i s důstojníky k Rusům za zvuků plukovní kapely.

[III.1]

Armádní rozkaz ze dne 17. dubna 1915:

Přeplněn bolestí nařizuji, aby c. k. pěší pluk čís. 28 pro zbabělost a velezrádu byl vymazán z mého vojska. Plukovní prapor budiž zneuctěnému pluku odebrán a odevzdán do vojenského musea. Dnešním dnem přestává existovat pluk, který, otráven mravně z domova, vytáhl do pole, aby se dopustil velezrády. František Josef I.

Also written:Francis Joseph I Parrott František Josef I/Franz Josef I Sadlon František Josef I. cz Franjo Josip I. hr I. Ferenc József hu Francesco Giuseppe I it Franciszek Józef I pl Franz Josef I ro František Jozef I. sk Franc Jožef I. sl Франц Йосиф I ua

Literature

• Wien, den 18. August Oesterreichischer Beobachter 19.8.1830
• Wien, den 20. August Prager Zeitung 24.8.1830

	Mr. Lucheni, Luigi
*22.4.1873 Paris - †19.10.1910 Genève
Wikipedia czdeenfrit Search Švejkův slovník

Lucheni is mentioned by Švejk in conversations with Mrs. Müllerová when he reveals his knowledge on royal murders.

Background

Lucheni was a French-born anarchist of Italian descent who lived most of his life in Switzerland. He murdered Kaiserin Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary in Geneva in 1898. He was given a life sentence (Switzerland had abolished the death penalty) and later committed suicide in prison. The name is often written Luccheni, which is also used by Hašek.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Hlavní věcí je vyčíhat na ten moment, až takovej pán jede kolem. Jako, jestli se pamatujou, na toho pana Luccheniho, co probod naši nebožku Alžbětu tím pilníkem. Procházel se s ní.

Also written:Luccheni Hašek

	Kaiserin Elisabeth
*24.12.1837 München - †10.9.1898 Genève
Wikipedia czdeenhuno Search Švejkův slovník

Zlatá Praha,  16.9.1898.

Kourier an der Donau,  1.1.1838.

Journal de Genève,  11.9.1898.

Elisabeth is mentioned by Švejk when he reels off for Mrs. Müllerová his list of royal assassinations.

Background

Elisabeth was empress of Austria, queen of Hungary, also called Sisi (later Sissi), and married to Kaiser Franz Joseph I.. Her full name was Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Herzogin in Bayern.

Elisabeth was the second eldest daughter of duke Max Joseph av Bayern of the royal Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty, one of eight siblings. Only 17 years old she married her cousin Kaiser Franz Joseph I. in what could be described as a dynastically arranged marriage. The couple had four children, but mostly lived separate lives. After Ausgleich she was crowned queen of Hungary on 8 June 1867.

The empress/queen was very popular and has over the years acquired a status as a legend. She has been the focus of countless books, films, plays, and animations.

Murdered

The event that Švejk refers to happened on 10 September 1898 in Genève. The young anarchist Mr. Lucheni (who originally intended to murder the Duke of Orleans) stabbed her with a sharpened file at 12:40 PM and at 3:50 PM she was declared dead. The murder was reported in the Vienna newspapers already the next day[a] and caused great consternation all over the world. The killer was arrested and identified the same evening.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Hlavní věcí je vyčíhat na ten moment, až takovej pán jede kolem. Jako, jestli se pamatujou, na toho pana Luccheniho, co probod naši nebožku Alžbětu tím pilníkem. Procházel se s ní.

Also written:Alžběta cz Erzsébet hu

Literature

• Hiesiges Münchener Tagblatt 28.12.1837
• Ischl, 19. Aug. Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 23.8.1853
• Keiserinden af Østerige myrdet Dagbladet 11.9.1898

	Tsar Nicholas II
*18.5.1868 Sankt-Peterburg - †17.7.1918 Jekaterinburg
Wikipedia czdeennnru Search Švejkův slovník

Národní listy, 18.3.1917.

Nicholas II is mentioned by Švejk when he is reeling off for Mrs. Müllerová his list of royal murders, and says it may even happen to the Tsar and the Tsarevna.

Background

Nicholas was a tsar (emperor) of the Romanov dynasty and the last monarch of Russia. His reign lasted from 1894 to 1917 when he was forced to step down after the February Revolution (March 15). He was from September 1915 commander-in-chief of Russia's armed forces after replacing his cousin Nicholas Nikolaevich. On 17 July 1918 he and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks, an event which is regarded as one of the most significant political murders in recent history.

Nicholas was regarded a weak and inept ruler, but has since 1990 seen a certain post-mortem rehabilitation. He was officially buried in 1998 and in 2000 he was declared a saint by the Russian-Orthodox church.

A paradox is that Jaroslav Hašek in 1916 and 1917 advocated czarist rule and even proposed that a Romanov prince ascend the Czech throne after the foreseen victory in the war and the subsequent break-up of Austria-Hungary.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] A vono to čeká ještě moc osob. A uvidějí, paní Müllerová, že se dostanou i na toho cara s carevnou, a může být, nedej pánbůh, i na císaře pána, když už to začli s jeho strýcem. Von má, starej pán, moc nepřátel.

Also written:Mikuláš II. cz Nikolaus II de Николай II ru

Literature

• Abdankung des Zaren - die Zarin unter Bewachung Die Neue Zeitung 17.3.1917

	Tsaritsa Alexandra
*6.6.1872 Darmstadt - †17.7.1918 Jekaterinburg
Wikipedia czdeennoru Search Švejkův slovník

Alexandra is mentioned indirectly by Švejk when he is reeling off for Mrs. Müllerová his list of royal murders, and says it may even happen to the Tsar and the Tsarevna. The good soldier's prophecy was proven true little more than three years later.

Background

Alexandra was empress of Russia from 1894 to 1917, married to Tsar Nicholas II. She was executed together with her family in Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбу́рг) on 17 July 1918.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] A vono to čeká ještě moc osob. A uvidějí, paní Müllerová, že se dostanou i na toho cara s carevnou, a může být, nedej pánbůh, i na císaře pána, když už to začli s jeho strýcem. Von má, starej pán, moc nepřátel.

Also written:Alix de Александра ru

	Browning, John Moses
*21.1.1855 Ogden - †26.11.1926 Liège
Wikipedia czdeenno Search Švejkův slovník

The weapon that killed Franz Ferdinand.

Browning is indirectly mentioned through his pistol-brand when Švejk explains for Mrs. Müllerová what he would have used if he was to kill an archduke.

Background

Browning was an American firearms designer. He made pistols, rifles, shotguns and machine-guns. Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand was killed with a Belgian-made Browning semi-automatic pistol (FN Model 1910).

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] „To jde náramně rychle, paní Müllerová, strašně rychle. Já bych si na takovou věc koupil brovnink. Vypadá to jako hračka, ale můžete s tím za dvě minuty postřílet dvacet arcivévodů, hubenejch nebo tlustejch.

	King Carlos I.
*28.9.1863 Lisboa - †1.2.1908 Lisboa
Wikipedia czdeennopt Search Švejkův slovník

Světozor, 14.2.1908

Carlos I. is mentioned indirectly by Švejk when he explains for Mrs. Müllerová what he would have used if he was to kill an archduke. To kill a fat dignitary like the king of Portugal, a good weapon like a Browning was needed.

Background

Even though his name is not mentioned directly there is no doubt that Švejk had King Carlos I. in mind. He was king of Portugal from 1889 until he was murdered by republican activists in 1908[a]. The Portuguese state went bankrupt twice during his lifetime, including once during his reign, in 1902.

The king had indeed, as Švejk said, become quite fat in his later years. He was however killed by rifle shots, and not with a Browning as the good soldier claimed.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Ačkoliv, mezi námi řečeno, paní Müllerová, že do tlustýho arcivévody se trefíte jistějc než do hubenýho. Jestli se pamatujou, jak tenkrát v Portugalsku si postříleli toho svýho krále. Byl taky takovej tlustej. To víte, že král nebude přece hubenej.

	Princip, Gavrilo
*25.7.1894 Obljaj - †28.4.1918 Terezín
Wikipedia czdeennosr Search Švejkův slovník

Die Neue Zeitung, 14.10.1914.

Gavrilo Princip is mentioned indirectly by Švejk and Mrs. Müllerová when they discuss those who carried out the killings in Sarajevo.

Background

Gavrilo Princip was one of the assassins who took part in the plot to kill Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28 1914. Princip and his accomplices were trained by and acted on orders from the Serbian nationalist group The Black Hand, a group that had it's origin in the Serbian armed forces. Their principal goal was to join all Serb-populated territories in a greater Serbia.

It was Gavrilo Princip who fired the lethal bullets after several attempts had failed in the preceding minutes. Princip unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide and was immediately arrested.

The trial started in Sarajevo on 12 October 1914 and on the 28th the verdict fell. Some of the conspirators were handed death sentences but Gavrilo Princip was convicted to life imprisonment as he was to young for capital punishment.

He died in jail in Terezín already in 1918. Thus he never lived to see the greater Serbia that Yugoslavia in many ways became.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Já si představuju, že se pan arcivévoda Ferdinand také v tom Sarajevu zmejlil v tom člověkovi, co ho střelil. Viděl nějakého pána a myslil si: To je nějakej pořádnej člověk, když mně volá slávu. A zatím ho ten pán bouch. Dal mu jednu nebo několik?“

Also written:Гаврило Принцип sr

Literature

• Hochverratsproceß in Sarajevo ... Feldblatt 13.10.1914
• Erkehertug Franz Ferdinands morder død Trondhjems adresseavis 2.5.1918

	Detective Bretschneider
Search Švejkův slovník

České slovo, 11.11.1923.

Čechoslovan, 21.08.1916 (3.9).

Bretschneider is named 44 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Bretschneider was an undercover agent working for the state police. He met Švejk at U kalicha and tried to trick him and the host pubkeeper Palivec into compromising themselves in connection with the Sarajevo murders. He succeeded in both cases.

Bretschneider is part of the plot for the last time in [I.6] when Švejk has been released after his arrest. This time he did not get anyone on the hook, and the author sends him out of the story in the most miserable manner by revealing that the detective was devoured by the very dogs he had bought from Švejk. Bretschneider is the only person taking part in the plot who explicitly gets killed.

In the epilogue to Part One the author mentions the now deceased detective and adds that people like him wander about even in Czechoslovakia and are very interested in what people are talking about.

Bretschneider is mentioned by name altogether 44 times in the first book.

Background

Bretschneider seems to be modelled on a real person in Staatspolizei in Prague. Jaroslav Hašek was kept an eye on due to his connection with the anarchist movement and he knew many in the police force. Emil Artur Longen claims that the real Bretschneider was a certain Vincenc Španda, and that he and Hašek had met in Berlin in 1920 (unlikely). In Longen's book the connection is explained in detail.

The name Bretschneider may have several sources. The policeman Josef Brettschneider lived in Košíře at the same time as Hašek, and according to Milan Báča he emigrated in 1919 and took the name Wenzel Spanda. A certain Karel Bretschneider was a policeman who lived in Kinského tř. 31 Smíchov in 1891, but the start and end of his active duty is not known.

One person that Hašek definitely knew was the sculptor Vladimír Bretschneider (1886-1951). The two fell out and the use of the name may well have been an act of revenge.

The agent Mašek

Another possible inspiration is Hynek Mašek, an agent provocateur who tried to infiltrate the anarchist movement and also Česká strana národně sociální on several occasions between 1906 and 1909. He was explicitly named in Hašek's story Po stopách státní policie v Praze, printed in Čechoslovan on 21 August 1916. Here Hašek claims that Mašek was an Austrian spy operating amongst the Czechs in Russia, and the article eventually led to Mašek's arrest. When České legie hastily had to leave Ukraine in February 1918 he was shot. Perhaps Jaroslav Hašek alludes to Mašek's fate when he lets Bretschneider be eaten by his own dogs?

Radko Pytlík: Kniha o Švejkovi, s.146

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] V hospodě „U kalicha“ seděl jen jeden host. Byl to civilní strážník Bretschneider, stojící ve službách státní policie.

[I.6] A to byl konec slavného detektiva Bretschneidra. Když měl již ve svém bytě sedm takových ohav, uzavřel se s nimi v zadním pokoji a nedal jim tak dlouho nic jíst, dokud ho nesežraly.

[I.16] Lidí typu nebožtíka Bretschneidera, státního detektiva starého Rakouska, potlouká se i dnes velice mnoho v republice. Neobyčejně se zajímají o to, co kdo mluví.

Sources: Radko Pytlík, Hůla, Milan Báča

Literature

• Literární toulky Milan Báča, Svitavský deník 9.9.2012
• Dobrodruh Mašek zemřel Čas 23.6.1909
• Agent provokatér Mašek Čas 3.7.1909
• Po stopách státní policie v Praze Jaroslav Hašek, Čechoslovan 21.8.1916 (3.9)
• Mašek Hynek Jaroslav Šerák

	Pubkeeper Palivec
Search Švejkův slovník

České slovo, 11.11.1923.

Palivec is named 24 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Palivec was pub landlord at U kalicha and known for his foul mouth. He was also a man who had read a lot without this having refined his language the slightest. He was arrested by detective Bretschneider, having uttered an unfortunate sentence about flies defiling a portrait of the Emperor. For this he got 10 years hard labour.

The epilogue to Part One reveals that he served his sentence until the end of the war. In the same epilogue the author presents Palivec as a symbol of his right to reproduce tales as they were spoken, without having to embellish it to placate the more sensitive part of the readership, or to satisfy the demands for decent language in literature.

On biographical details it is revealed that Palivec was married and his wife worked in the bar, that he had served with the army in Bosnia, and that he sympathised with the organisation Volná myšlenka (Free Thought).

Background

Palivec quite probably has a real-life model. In his book Die Abenteuer des gar nicht so braven Humoristen Jaroslav Hašek (1989) Jan Berwid-Buquoy claimed that this person was Václav Šmíd who is reported to have been landlord at U kalicha in 1914 and was known for his rough language. The same source claims that a Josef Palivec was a waiter there at the time.

Radko Pytlík finds it more likely that a certain Josef Šolc was the inspiration for Palivec. Šolc was landlord at a pub nearby, on the corner of Sokolská ulice and Fügnerovo nám. and as opposed to U kalicha it was a place the author decidedly frequented.

Vilém Juris

What is beyond dispute is that the landlord at U kalicha from 1908 and at least until 1913 was Vilém Juris, and that two Václav Šmíd's were landlords elsewhere in the city. In another book published in 2011 Berwid-Buquoy changed the landlord's name to Josef Šmída, and added that he ran the pub together with Vilém Jurisch, who allegedly died in the spring of 1914. Police registers reveal 180 entries on Palivec from 1850 to 1914 so there are plenty of candidates.

Juris was according to the city's population registers born 10 June 1871 in Velké Lipno, was married to Blahoslava (nee 1877) and they registered at the address of U kalicha 18 July 1908[a]. In an article in Prager Presse 5 December 1929 Maximilian Huppert claimed that the former landlord at U kalicha, Ferdinand Juris, was still alive[b]. Whether this is a mix-up with another person is not known.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] V hospodě „U kalicha“ seděl jen jeden host. Byl to civilní strážník Bretschneider, stojící ve službách státní policie. Hostinský Palivec myl tácky a Bretschneider se marně snažil navázat s ním vážný rozhovor. Palivec byl známý sprosťák, každé jeho druhé slovo byla zadnice nebo hovno. Přitom byl ale sečtělý a upozorňoval každého, aby si přečetl, co napsal o posledním předmětě Victor Hugo, když líčil poslední odpověď staré gardy Napoleona Angličanům v bitvě u Waterloo.

[I.16] Od hostinského Palivce nemůžeme žádati, aby mluvil tak jemně jako pí Laudová

[I.16] Při této příležitosti upozorňuji, že hostinský Palivec je naživu. Přečkal válku, kterou proseděl v žaláři, a zůstal stále týmž, jako když měl tu aféru s obrazem císaře Františka Josefa.

	Hugo, Victor
*28.2.1802 Besançon - †22.5.1885 Paris
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Victor Hugo was an author pubkeeper Palivec had read and liked to quote. Palivec put forward Victor Hugo in defence of his vulgar language. Indirectly he referred to a passage in Les Misérables where the famous mot de Cambronne, which is connected to Napoléon's old guard in the battle of Waterloo, is quoted.

General Cambronne is said to have given this simple answer to General Colville when the latter insisted he surrender: Merde!.

Background

Victor Hugo was a French author and politician who published poetry, drama and novels. In France he is regarded as one of the country's leading poets. His most famous novel is probably "Les Misérables". Victor Hugo was also a political activist and was forced into exile for a number of years. After his return in 1870 he was elected member of the Senate. He was also known as an advocate of human rights.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Palivec byl známý sprosťák, každé jeho druhé slovo byla zadnice nebo hovno. Přitom byl ale sečtělý a upozorňoval každého, aby si přečetl, co napsal o posledním předmětě Victor Hugo, když líčil poslední odpověď staré gardy Napoleona Angličanům v bitvě u Waterloo.

	Lazarus
Wikipedia czdeenno Search

Lazarus was mentioned in a dialogue when Švejk told detective Bretschneider that he was tied up like Lazarus for two days after having got arrested with 20 buttons missing on his uniform.

Background

Lazarus was the name of two persons from the new testament. One of them was a pauper in St. Lucas' gospel, mentioned in a parable. The second one was Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Martha and Mary and who was very close to Jesus. It was this Lazarus that Jesus resurrected, and almost certainly the one Švejk had in mind.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Jednou se pamatuji, že mně scházelo při takové přehlídce dvacet knoflíků u munduru a že mě zavřeli za to na čtrnáct dní do ajnclíku a dva dni jsem ležel jako lazar, svázanej do kozelce.

Also written:Lazar cz Lazarus de

	Oberleutnant Makovec
Search Švejkův slovník

Makovec was one of Švejk's superiors when he did national service. Švejk refers to him as "obrlajtnant Makovec" (senior lieutenant) and portrays him as a nasty brute and a fanatic disciplinarian. One of the best known quotes from the novel stems from Makovec: "Discipline must be enforced, you stupid boys".

Background

There is no sign of any Makovec in Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 (or even in the entire k.u.k. Heer) at the time when Švejk might have done his military service.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Náš obrlajtnant Makovec, ten nám vždycky říkal: ,Disciplina, vy kluci pitomí, musí bejt, jinak byste lezli jako vopice po stromech, ale vojna z vás udělá lidi, vy blbouni pitomí? A není to pravda? Představte si park, řekněme na Karláku, a na každým stromě jeden voják bez discipliny. Z toho jsem vždycky měl největší strach.“

	Ludvík, Břetislav
*31.7.1882 Praha - †6.12.1956 Praha
Search Švejkův slovník

Břetislav Ludvík was a cattle trader who, according to one of Švejk's numerous and long anecdotes, was stabbed on the square in Budějovice. This story associated cattle traders with the imperial family and contributed greatly to Švejk's arrest by detective Bretschneider.

Background

The name is borrowed from a journalist and multi-artist, in police records from 1913 registered as "Schauspieler" (actor). He was one of Hašek's childhood friends, and in 1946 he published a short book Kdo je Jaroslav Hašek in the series Who is. Here he admits to being angry with the way his name was abused and also that he briefly met Jaroslav Hašek in 1922.

Borrowing a name

Ludvík is a good example of how the author borrowed names from a person that has nothing in common with the corresponding literary character.

Hašek and Mussolini

One of the more imaginative claims in Ludvík's book is that Hašek met Benito Mussolini in Trento in 1906. The story is inherited from Václav Menger and his book Jaroslav Hašek doma, 1935, but Menger adds that this is a legend that Hašek himself told his friends.[1]

The historian Renzo de Felice even suggests that this meeting inspired the latter's interest in Hus, also suggested in Menger's book. As recently as 2013 the Mussolini theme appeared in the film Toulavé house by Vít Olmer.

Talk on Hašek

Břetislav Hůla,  22.2.1949.

© LA-PNP

In 1949 Břetislav Hůla noted that Ludvík once held a talk on Hašek in the pub U Brindů, but adds that he was simply reading aloud from his book, "with all the contained errors and inaccuracies". There was however no damage done as only around 20 people attended and they were charged 8 crowns each!

Pavel Helan

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] U nás před léty v Budějovicích probodli na trhu v nějaké takové malé hádce jednoho obchodníka s dobytkem, nějakého Břetislava Ludvíka.

Sources: Pavel Helan

Literature

• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914
• Kdo je Jaroslav Hašek Břetislav Ludvík
• Jaroslav Hašek doma Václav Menger 1935
• Mussolini Looks at Jan Hus and the Bohemian Reformation Pavel Helan
• Brief biography Databáze Národní knihovny ČR

---

• V Kult. politice č.7 ... Břetislav Hůla 22.2.1949
• Spisovatel Břetislav Ludvík zemřel Rudé právo 10.12.1956

	Ludvík, Bohuslav
Search Švejkův slovník

Police registration 1911

Bohuslav Ludvík was the son of Břetislav Ludvík in Švejk's anecdote about cattle traders. He committed suicide by jumping in the Vltava from a bridge. See Most v Krumlově.

Background

Only one single person carried this name according to the Prague police registers (1850 to 1914). He was born in 1883 and resident in Nusle in 1904. He was the same age as Jaroslav Hašek, and the author knew the area well but there exists no knowledge of any contact between the two.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] U nás před léty v Budějovicích probodli na trhu v nějaké takové malé hádce jednoho obchodníka s dobytkem, nějakého Břetislava Ludvíka. Ten měl syna Bohuslava, a kam přišel prodávat prasata, nikdo od něj nic nekoupil a každý říkal: ,To je syn toho probodnutýho, to bude asi také pěknej lump.’ Musel skočit v Krumlově s toho mostu do Vltavy a museli ho vytáhnout, museli ho křísit, museli z něho pumpovat vodu a von jim musel skonat v náručí lékaře, když mu dal nějakou injekci.“

Literature

• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914

	Pinďour
Search Švejkův slovník

A typical gamekeeper from Zliv

Pinďour was a game keeper from Zliv. He figured in an inappropriate anecdote that Švejk told detective Bretschneider in U kalicha. In this story water bailiffs and pig gelders are subtly compared to the imperial family. Pinďour was shot by poachers. He had an ugly name according to Švejk. The name actually means "little dick" but this is for obvious reasons not directly stated in the novel. The gamekeeper was shot by poachers and left behind the very widow who this anecdote is constructed around.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] To byl ve Zlivi u Hluboké před léty jeden hajný, měl takové ošklivé jméno Pinďour.

Also written:Pinscher Reiner

	Šavel, Pepík
Search Švejkův slovník

Pepík Šavel was a gamekeeper from Mydlovary in the anecdote Švejk told at U kalicha (see Pinďour). He got married to the widow of Pinďour, and was like him shot by poachers. The analogy towards the killings of Sarajevo didn't serve Švejk well at all.

Background

Pepík is a Czech nickname for Josef.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] To byl ve Zlivi u Hluboké před léty jeden hajný, měl takové ošklivé jméno Pinďour. Zastřelili ho pytláci a zůstala po něm vdova s dvěma dítkami a vzala si za rok opět hajného, Pepíka Šavlovic z Mydlovar. A zastřelili jí ho taky.

Also written:Pepi Schawlowitz Reiner Rohwolt (2001) Schewla-Pepi Reiner (Aufbau 2009)

	The prince at Hluboká
Search

Adolf Joseph Schwarzenberg, 1907

The prince at Hluboká is mentioned in Švejk's anecdote about the widow of the gamekeepers who turns up at the prince's office at Hluboká to ask for advice.

Background

The prince at Hluboká probably refers to Adolf Joseph Schwarzenberg (1832-1914), the 8th Prince of Schwarzenberg and a major landowner in South Bohemia. Another candidate is his son Johann II (1860-1938) as both were alive at the time the event is said to have taken place ("years ago"). They also held the title Duke of Krumlov, another of the Schwarzenberg estates. See Fürst Schwarzenberg (st.).

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] To se ví, že jí ho zas zastřelili, a to už měla s těmi hajnými šest dětí dohromady. Byla až v kanceláři knížete pána na Hluboké a stěžovala si, že má s těmi hajnými trápení.

Also written:Kníže na Hluboké cz Der Fürst in Hluboká de

Literature

• Lovec a šlechtic Adolf Josef Schwarzenberg Lumír Kothera

	Pondwarden Jareš
Search Švejkův slovník

Národní listy, 2.10.1889.

Jareš was a pond warden from ražická bašta in a story Švejk told at U kalicha. He was married to the widow of Pinďour and Pepík Šavel but drowned when fishing empty a pond. The widow finally married a pig gelder from Vodňany but was killed by him. The pig gelder uttered the most unsavoury phrases about the Emperor as he was hung in Písek. This anecdote surely contributed to Švejk's arrest.

Background

Antonín Jareš (1806-1889) was the grandfather of Jaroslav Hašek and a pond warden by Ražice. The name is re-used on three occasions later in the novel; once in Švejk's conversation with Oberst Kraus's maid, and twice in an anecdote told at Švarcenberský ovčín.

Grandfather Jareš lived the last few years of his life with his daughter's family in Prague, and here he got to know his famous-to-be grandson. There is no doubt that he inspired both the names in this novel, as well as the seven stories centred around ražická bašta that were published before the war[a].

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Tak jí odporučili porybnýho Jareše ražické bašty. A co byste řekli, utopili jí ho při lovení rybníka, a měla s ním dvě děti.

Literature

• Lidský profil Jaroslava Haška Václav Menger

	Crown Prince Rudolf
*21.08.1858 Laxenburg - †30.01.1889 Mayerling
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Rudolf was mentioned by Švejk as he in front of detective Bretschneider reeled off the personal tragedies the Emperor had suffered in his lifetime.

Background

Rudolf was crown prince and heir to the thrones of Austria-Hungary and the only son of Kaiser Franz Joseph I. and Kaiserin Elisabeth. He committed suicide together with his lover Maria Vetsera at Mayerling castle outside Vienna.

Rudolf suffered from severe mood changes and there is still some debate over whether it really was suicide. The death certificate mentions "spiritual confusion." The drama of Mayerling has been filmed many times, including in a French/British production from 1968 with Omar Sharif in the role as Rudolf.

The free-thinking crown price lived a dissolute life, got dependent on morphine after treatment for VD and infected his wife with gonorrhoea, which made her sterile. Rudolf was politically liberal and associated with the organisation Free Thought (see Volná myšlenka). His political views prevented him from being included in the influential circles of the court, his father keeping him at distance.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Syna Rudolfa ztratil v útlém věku, v plné mužské síle.

	Orth, Johann
*25.11.1852 Firenze - †12.7.1890 (?) Cabo tres Puntas
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Johann Orth was mentioned by Švejk when he listed the tragedies that had hit the emperor during his lifetime.

Background

Johann Orth was archduke of the house of Habsburg and prince of Tuscany. His real name was Johann Salvator, but he took the common name Johann Orth in 1889 after having reneged on his imperial privileges. This happened after a conflict with the court as Salvator wanted to marry the dancer Ludmilla Schubel, a lady well below his rank. He took the new name after a castle he owned in Salzkammergut. Orth was a good friend of crown prince Crown Prince Rudolf and shared his liberal political views. After breaking with the court he was forced to leave the country. Already having obtained a ship captain's certificate he tried his luck in merchant shipping. In 1890 he left for London where he bought a cargo vessel and embarked on a freight mission to Argentina and Chile. Around 12 July 1890 the ship went missing near Cabo Tres Puntas.

His full name was Giovanni Nepomuceno Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Ferdinando Baldassares Lodovico Carlo Zenobio Antonino d'Asburgo-Lorena.

Speculations

What really happened is still unclear but rumours that he survived have regularly surfaced. He was officially declared dead in 1911, but in 1945 a certain Alexander Victor Hugo Köhler from Kristiansand claimed on his death-bed that he was Johann Orth. The case appeared in Norwegian courts in 1945 and 2007 and raised attention also in Austria. Still researchers at the university of Bergen see little reason to believe the claims of Köhler and his descendants.

Drill oder Erziehung

Drill oder Erziehung, page 11. When the intelligent soldier feigns dutifulness.

Concluding Drill oder Erziehung

In the novel there is yet another reference Johann Orth, albeit obscure and indirect. It was first pointed out by Sergey Soloukh in 2012. In Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's description of Fähnrich Dauerling in [II.3] he mentions a book Drill oder Erziehung where it according to Marek is stated that "terror is fundamental in training of soldiers and that successful training is proportional to the degree of terror". This booklet of 22 pages exists but the content does not fit the description Marek gives and could certainly not have inspired Dauerling's inhuman methods. It is a reprint of a lecture Orth (at the time still Erzherzog Johann) held on 3 November 1883 in Militär-Wissenschaftlichen Vereine zu Wien and was published by the same association. The above-mentioned quote can not be found in the booklet, and it was exactly this type of brutal exercise Erzherzog Johann spoke out against. Nor is Marek's claim that k.u.k. Kriegsministerium was the publisher of the book correct as the publisher was L. W Seidel & Sohn. In Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí the booklet is even described as a "military textboook".

Drill oder Erziehung is a sharp attack on the practices within k.u.k. Wehrmacht to emphasize drill at the expense of education in military training. The lecture caused considerable resentment and harmed the already strained relation between the liberal-minded archduke and the military establishment. Johann already carried a certain weight besides being a member of the Habsburg-family: he was a professional soldier and commander of Infanteriedivision Nr. 25 and had participated in the occupation of Bosnia-Hercegovina in 1878. At the time he presented his provicative lecture the 41 year old archduke had already obtained the rank of Feldmarschall-Leutnant.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Manželku Alžbětu mu propíchli pilníkem, potom se mu ztratil Jan Orth; bratra, císaře mexického, mu zastřelili v nějaké pevnosti u nějaké zdi.

Also written:Jan Orth cz Orth János hu Giovanni Orth it

Literature

• Drill oder Erziehung Erzherzog Johann
• Ungestümer kaiserlicher Rebell Friedrich Weissensteiner
• Johann Orth: Habsburg (ret’d) Sonja Schmöckel
• Alexander Hugo Köhler – tysk litograf eller italiensk erkehertug? Rigmor Waler Iversen
• Швейк. Комментарии. Шаг 50 Сергей Солоух (2012)

	Emperor Maximiliano I.
*6.6.1832 Wien - †19.6.1867 Santiago de Querétaro
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Emperor of Mexiko, by Mathew Brady, around 1864.

Maximiliano I. is referred to by Švejk as the Emperor of Mexico when he tells detective Bretschneider about all the tragedies that had hit Kaiser Franz Joseph I. He was executed by some wall in some fortress in Mexico according to Švejk.

Background

was an archduke of the house of Habsburg, and brother of Kaiser Franz Joseph I. He was installed as emperor of Mexico by the French in 1863, but was executed in 1867 at Cerro de las Campanas in Querétaro after a rebellion led by the liberal Benito Juárez.

His full name was Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph von Österreich.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] Manželku Alžbětu mu propíchli pilníkem, potom se mu ztratil Jan Orth; bratra, císaře mexického, mu zastřelili v nějaké pevnosti u nějaké zdi.

	Mrs. Palivcová
Search Švejkův slovník

České slovo, 11.11.1923.

Palivcová is named 9 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Palivcová was left crying in U kalicha at the end of [I.1] when her husband, pubkeeper Palivec, was escorted out by detective Bretschneider. Her husband consoled her and told that she need not fear the police just because some flies had shitted on a portrait of the Emperor.

Mrs. Palivec reappears in [I.6] after Švejk was released from prison and drops by U kalicha. In [I.11] she refuses to serve Švejk because she thinks he is a deserter. This is the last time we hear of her.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.1] A zatímco vedli Švejka do přijímací kanceláře, „U kalicha“ předával pan Palivec hospodu své plačící ženě, těše ji svým zvláštním způsobem: „Neplač, neřvi, co mně mohou udělat kvůli posranýmu obrazu císaře pána?“

Also written:Mrs. Palivec en Frau Palivec de Fru Palivec no

	Detective Brixi
Search Švejkův slovník

Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních (1907)

Brixi was a policeman who arrested an unusually fat paper merchant who had paid for to Serbian students at U Brejšky and had been observed drunk with them at Café Montmartre. The owner of the paper shop was one of Švejk's fellow prisoners at c.k. policejní ředitelství.

Background

This detective may well have had a model from real life but the surname Brixi (including the variant Briksi) was relatively rare in Prague. At most ten people carrying this name were alive at the time and none of them are listed with professions that seem related to the police.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.2] Výjimku dělal neobyčejně tlustý pán s brýlemi, s uplakanýma očima, který byl zatčen doma ve svém bytě, poněvadž dva dny před atentátem v Sarajevu platil „U Brejšky“ za dva srbské studenty, techniky, útratu a detektivem Brixim byl spatřen v jejich společnosti opilý v „Montmartru“ v Řetězové ulici, kde, jak již v protokole potvrdil svým podpisem, též za ně platil.

	Columbus, Cristoforo
*1451(?) Genova(?) - †20.5.1506 Valladolid
Wikipedia czdeenesno Search

Columbus breaking the egg

Columbus is mentioned indirectly through the description of the event who led to the arrest of one of Švejk's fellow prisoners. Švejk's fellow inmate was a teacher of history who concluded his analysis of various assassinations with the words: The idea of an assassination is as easy as Columbus' egg.

Background

Columbus was a discoverer and merchant og Italian origin, known for the European "discovery" of America in 1492.

Columbus' egg describes a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact. The expression refers to a popular story of how Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was no great accomplishment, challenged his critics to make an egg stand on its tip; and, after they gave up, he did it himself by tapping the egg on the table so as to flatten its tip.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.2] Malý pán, kterému se to stalo ve vinárně, byl profesorem dějepisu a vykládal vinárníkovi dějiny různých atentátů. Byl zatčen právě v okamžiku, když končil psychologický rozbor každého atentátu slovy: „Myšlenka atentátu je tak jednoduchá jako, Kolumbovo vejce’.“

Also written:Kolumbus cz Kolumbus de Cristóbal Colón es Columbus nn

	Jesus Christ
*4 f.kr(?) Betlehem - †30(?) Jersusalem
Wikipedia czdeennn Search

As seen by El Greco

Jesus Christ is named 38 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Jesus Christ is referred to by Švejk as "Kristus Pán", literally "Christ the Lord". This is when he tells his fellow prisoners about their hopeless situation. "Christ the Lord was also innocent" are the discouraging words they hear. Jesus is mentioned more peripherally in the first chapter, through the expression Ježíšmarjá that Švejk used when he heard about the killings in Sarajevo. Jesus is mentioned at various stages through the novel, mostly in common expressions. The words used are Ježíš or Kristus/Krist. There are also rare occurences of the German Jesus and the Hungarian Krizstus.

Background

Jesus Christ was a central figure in the Bible. He laid the foundations of the Christian faith. He was crucified for instigating rebellion in the year of 33 during the period of Roman rule. His birth and death dates are most uncertain. According to the Cristian faith and his own claims he was the Son of God and Messiah the Saviour. Jesus was also an important prophet in islam but this religion credits him with a less important role. The Jewish religion regards him as a false Messiah.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.2] „Já jsem nevinnej, já jsem nevinnej,“ opakoval zježený muž. „Kristus Pán byl taky nevinnej,“ řekl Švejk, „a taky ho ukřižovali. Nikde nikdy nikomu na nějakým nevinným člověku nezáleželo. Maul halten und weiter dienen!, jako říkávali nám na vojně. To je to nejlepší a nejkrásnější.“

[I.15] "Co s ním udělám?" mihlo se hlavou nadporučíkovi, "má, prokristapána, takový pitomý výraz."

[I.15] "Švejku, ježíšmarjá, himlhergot, já vás zastřelím, vy hovado, vy dobytku, vy vole, vy hajzle jeden. Jste tak blbej?"

[II.3] "Ježíšmarjá", vzdychl pro sebe desátník, vida, že po důkladném loku zmizelo půl láhve.

[II.3] "Mají to tady pěkně zařízený, dokonce dva deštníky na věšáku, a ten vobraz toho Pána Krista taky není špatnej."

[II.3] "Baszom az anyát, baszom az istenet, baszom a Krizstus Márját, baszom az atyádot, baszom a világot!"

Also written:Ježíš Kristus cz

	Lombroso, Cesare
*6.11.1835 Verona - †19.10.1909 Torino
Wikipedia deenitno Search Švejkův slovník

Lombroso is referred to in connection with the book L'uomo delinquente where the author describes the interrogator at c.k. policejní ředitelství. He looked like a criminal type described by Lombroso in this particular book.

Background

Lombroso was an Italian criminologist, anthropologist and lawyer. He was a pioneer of anthropological criminology which promoted the claim that criminality was inherited. Lombroso rejected the hitherto classical view that the criminal instinct was part of human nature. His V(political anthropology criminology) maintained that criminal behaviour is in the genes and could be enhanced by physical defects. The physical shape could indicate whether a person was a criminal, which he gave many examples of in the illustrations in his books. Lombroso was of Jewish origin and baptised Ezechia Marco Lombroso.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.2] „Dobrý večer přeju, pánové, všem vespolek.“ Místo odpovědi dloubl ho někdo pod žebra a postavil před stůl, za kterým seděl pán chladné úřední tváře s rysy zvířecké ukrutnosti, jako by právě vypadl z Lombrosovy knihy „O typech zločinných“. Podíval se krvežíznivě na Švejka a řekl: „Netvařte se tak blbě.“

Literature

• LOMBROSO, Cesare (Ezechia Marco, detto Cesare) Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Giuseppe Armocida)

	Jan Nepomucký
*1345(?) Nepomuk - †20.3.1391 Praha
Wikipedia czdeen Search Švejkův slovník

Statue in Třeboň, 2011.

Jan Nepomucký was by Švejk held as an example of how badly prisoners were treated before, compared to the good treatment Švejk and his fellow inmates got these July days in 1914. Our hero falsely claimed that Nepomuk was drowned from Eliščin most. He appears again in the anecdote about Šic in [II.5].

Background

Jan Nepomucký was a Czech priest and martyr who was blinded, tortured, and drowned in the Vltava. Today there is a statue of him at the point at Karlův most where he was thrown off. He was canonized in 1729 and is now a patron saint. He is buried in Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.2] Nebo mu dali nohy do španělský boty a natáhli ho na žebřík, když se nechtěl přiznat, nebo mu pálili boky hasičskou pochodní, jako to udělali svatému Janu Nepomuckému.

Also written:John of Nepomuk en Johannes Nepomuk de Johan Nepomuk no

Literature

• Saint John of Nepomuk Infocentrum Nepomuk

	Mr. Demartini
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Demartini was the fat head of the guards for the prisoners in custody at the c.k. zemský co trestní soud.

Background

The chief prison guard has perhaps been inspired by the very real police high commisioner in Prague, Rudolf Demartini (1866-1919), who lived in Vinohrady (1906). This is a person Jaroslav Hašek surely knew or knew about. Little is known about him except for that he had three daughters and is buried at Olšany in Žižkov.

It has not been confirmed if he really was the chief guard in the remand arrest at c.k. zemský co trestní soud in 1914. He is not listed as an employee of the criminal court in the address books of 1907 and 1912 and it seems strange that someone with such a high rank is employed as the head of the prison guards. Therefore this is probably a borrowed name and not much more.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Čisté, útulné pokojíky zemského „co trestního soudu“ učinily na Švejka nejpříznivější dojem. Vybílené stěny, černě natřené mříže i tlustý pan Demartini, vrchní dozorce ve vyšetřovací vazbě s fialovými výložky i obrubou na erární čepici. Fialová barva je předepsána nejen zde, nýbrž i při náboženských obřadech na Popeleční středu i Veliký pátek.

Literature

• Demartini a demartinka Jaroslav Šerák
• Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních (1907) Obec Pražská
• Změna jména Národní politika 16.7.1915
• Úmrtí Venkov 25.4.1909

	Murderer Valeš, Alois
*19.5.1861 Mšecké Žehrovice - †18.12.1908 Nusle (Pankrác)
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Krvavá tragedie v Krči, Adolf Synek, 1904.

Matrika zemřelých.

© AHMP

Národní politika, 20.12.1908.

Valeš was a well knwn murderer who some years earlier had been interrogated by the same good-natured man who questioned Švejk at c.k. zemský co trestní soud.

Background

Valeš and his wife Ludmila committed a brutal double murder in April 1902 in the villa "Vilém" in Horní Krč where he was employed as a gardener. The victims were the young Slovak/Hungarian couple Matilda Hanzely and József Takács. They were planning to emigrate to America and therefore had a lot of money at hand. murderer Valeš hid the corpses in the garden and the crime was not discovered until October 1904. In February 1905 the couple was sentenced to death but the term was converted to life imprisonment by Kaiser Franz Joseph I..

Interrogation

Amongst those who interrogated murderer Valeš in 1905 were Karel Křikava and Václav Olič. They were police officers that Jaroslav Hašek knew and one of them may well have served as models for the good-natured interrogator. Egon Erwin Kisch mentions the Valeš-case briefly in the story Polizeimuseum, where he reveals that the murderer's weapon is on exhibition.

The villa owner

At the time of the discovery of the murder the owner of the villa was Alois Bauer, a merchant who lived in Smíchov. When the trial took place (January 1905) he was under administration and the villa was sold. In 1909 Bauer committed suicide by jumping into the Vltava near Střelecký ostrov [a].

E.E. Kisch: Polizeimuseum

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Starší pán dobromyslného vzezření, který kdysi, vyšetřuje známého vraha Valeše, nikdy neopomenul jemu říci: „Račte si sednout, pane Valeš, právě je zde jedna prázdná židle.“

Sources: Milan Hodík, Jaroslav Šerák

Literature

• Krvavá tragedie v Krči Adolf Synek 1904
• Matrika zemřelých Jaroslav Šerák
• Der Doppelmord in Krtsch Neues Wiener Abendblatt 9.11.1904
• Zločin, či mystifikace? Čech 9.11.1904
• Záhadný dvojnásobný zločin Čech 30.1.1905
• Leden, 30. Almanach královského hlavního města Prahy na rok 1906
• Vrah Alois Valeš zemřel Národní politika 20.12.1908

	Pontius Pilate
*? - †?
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Pontius Pilate is written about by the author when he describes those of the examining magistrates who were most obsessed with the letter of the law as "the Pilates of the new era".

Background

Pontius Pilate was Roman prefect of Judea in the period 26 to 36 AD and oviously plays a central part in the Bible as the Roman official who sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Vracela se slavná historie římského panství nad Jerusalemem. Vězně vyváděli i představovali je před Piláty roku 1914tého dolů do přízemku. A vyšetřující soudcové, Piláti nové doby, místo aby si čestně myli ruce, posílali si pro papriku a plzeňské pivo k Teissigovi a odevzdávali nové a nové žaloby na státní návladnictví.

Also written:Pilát Pontský cz

	Prokop Švejk
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Prokop Švejk is here at c.k. zemský co trestní soud mentioned in passing by Švejk when referring to his parents. They are mentioned again in [II.5], and it is only then their full names are revealed and it transpires that they are from Dražov.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] „Já myslím,“ odpověděl Švejk, „že jím musím být, poněvadž i můj tatínek byl Švejk a maminka paní Švejková. Já jim nemohu udělat takovou hanbu, abych zapíral svoje jméno.“

[II.5] Jakmile jsem ho poznal, šel jsem k němu na plošinu a dal jsem se s ním do hovoru, že jsme oba z Dražova. On se ale na mne rozkřik, abych ho neobtěžoval, že prý mne nezná. Já jsem mu to začal vysvětlovat, aby se jen upamatoval, že jsem jako malej hoch k němu chodil s matkou, která se jmenovala Antonie, otec že se jmenoval Prokop a byl šafářem. Ani potom nechtěl nic vědět o tom, že se známe. Tak jsem mu ještě řekl bližší podrobnosti, že v Dražově byli dva Novotní, Tonda a Josef.

	Mrs. Antonie Švejková
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Antonie Švejková is mentioned in passing by Švejk when referring to his parents in a conversation at c.k. zemský co trestní soud.

The parents are mentioned again in [II.5], and it is only then that their full names are revealed and it transpires that they are from Dražov.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] „Já myslím,“ odpověděl Švejk, „že jím musím být, poněvadž i můj tatínek byl Švejk a maminka paní Švejková. Já jim nemohu udělat takovou hanbu, abych zapíral svoje jméno.“

[II.5] Jakmile jsem ho poznal, šel jsem k němu na plošinu a dal jsem se s ním do hovoru, že jsme oba z Dražova. On se ale na mne rozkřik, abych ho neobtěžoval, že prý mne nezná. Já jsem mu to začal vysvětlovat, aby se jen upamatoval, že jsem jako malej hoch k němu chodil s matkou, která se jmenovala Antonie, otec že se jmenoval Prokop a byl šafářem.

	Doctor Heveroch, Antonín
*29.1.1869 Minice - †2.3.1927 Praha
Wikipedia czen Search Švejkův slovník

Heveroch was mentioned in a story by one of Švejk's fellow detainees who had gone to a lecture by Heveroch to learn to fake madness. He drank from the ink pot and performed his bodily needs in front of the legal commission. The only mistake he made was to bite a psychiatrist in the right foot, a procedure which was not described by Dr. Heveroch. One of the doctors of the commission that examined Švejk was a follower of Dr. Heveroch's psychiatric teaching.

Background

Heveroch was a notable Czech psychiatrist and neurologist who was, amongst other things, known for his studies on dyslexia and epilepsy. His book „O podivínech a lidech nápadných“ (On Freaks and Striking People) (1901) was according to František Langer amongsts Jaroslav Hašek's favourites.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] „Já těm soudním lékařům nic nevěřím,“ poznamenal muž inteligentního vzezření. „Když jsem jednou padělal směnky, pro všechen případ chodil jsem na přednášky k doktoru Heverochovi, a když mě chytili, simuloval jsem paralytika právě tak, jak ho vyličoval pan doktor Heveroch.

Literature

• Heveroch Deporsonalizace.info
• O podivínech a lidech nápadných Antonín Heveroch

	Rittmeister Rotter, Theodor Franz Adalbert
*28.3.1873 Krumlov - †1944 ?
Wikipedia cz Search Švejkův slovník

Rotter in the middle. Svět zvířat, 1909.

Za císáře pána, Michal Dlouhý

Schematismus der k. k. Landwehr und der k. k. Gendarmerie 1910.

Rotter is named 4 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Rotter was a well known police chief in Kladno who trained his dogs by experimenting with them on tramps in the district. This is according to a story Švejk tells his fellow prisoners at c.k. zemský co trestní soud.

The policeman is mentioned again in [II.2] during Švejk's wanderings around Písek. This story is almost identical, but is now told by a tramp.

Background

Rotter was a renowned dog breeder and policeman, stationed in Kladno in 1909 and 1910. During his period of service here he became the first ever to introduce police dogs in k.k. Gendarmerie.

Career

Rotter was born in 1873 in Krumlov with Heimatrecht Budějovice [a], son of brewmaster Theodor Rotter and Rosalie. In his younger years he served as an active (professional) officer in k.u.k. Heer, first as a cadet in Infanterieregiment Nr. 11 (Písek) from 1 September 1893 until 1895[d]. He was then promoted to Leutnant on 1 May 1895 and this year he was also transferred to Infanterieregiment Nr. 56 (Kraków). In 1901 he quit k.u.k. Heer to continue his career in the police[f].

He carried the rank lieutenant into the police and was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 November 1902. First he led the gendarmerie in Trutnov until 1906 when he was posted to Chomutov. In 1909 he was subsequently transferred to Kladno where he 1 November 1909 was promoted to Rittmeister[h]. It was during his term in Kladno that his name was first noticed in connection with police dogs [g] and he was at time mentioned in the newspapers several times.

His stay in Kladno was brief because already in 1910 his career path continued to Písek where he became commander of Gendarmerieabteilungskommando Nr. 14, an assignment that lasted at least until 1916. The census records reveal that he was registered on 16 August 1910, lived at the department station in Pražská ulice č.p. 261 with his wife Hedwiga and 5 year old son Franz[j]. Here they had a flat at their disposal where also a servant and a female cook lived. He reported Czech as his mother tongue whereas his wife and his son reported German. In 1911 Rotter published the booklet Anleitung zur Dressur von Polizeihunden. Towards the end of the war he was stationed in Djakova in occupied Montenegro as Bezirkskommandant. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 August 1918[e].

Hašek and Rotter

Svět zvířat, 1909.

In 1909, when he was still Oberleutnant at k.k. Gendarmerie in Kladno, Rotter bought two German Shepherds from Saarbrücken, where he had been on a course the previous year. He trained the dogs Wolf and Wölfin for service purposes and in Svět zvířat appeared a picture of the latter "catching" a runaway.

Jaroslav Hašek knew Rotter personally from his time as editor of Svět zvířat and in 1909 the magazine printed a photo of Rotter together with his dogs. The animals feature on several more photos in this publication throughout the year.

Hašek seems to have kept in touch with Rotter because Josef Lada wrote that he and Hašek on 28 June 1914 visited Rotter in Kladno[b]. This does however seem strange, considering that Rotter had moved to Písek already in 1910.

Czechoslovakia

Rotter continued in the police in Czechoslovakia after the war and newspaper articles reveal that he was promoted to plukovník (Colonel) and was still considered a prominent dog expert. Otherwise it is not known where he lived. In 1939 it was revealed that he had retired[h], he was now 67.

In his advanced years he wrote several books on dog breeding, the latest of which was published in 1938.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Taky vám dám příklad, jak se na Kladně zmejlil jeden policejní pes, vlčák toho známého rytmistra Rottera. Rytmistr Rotter pěstoval ty psy a dělal pokusy s vandráky, až se Kladensku počali všichni vandráci vyhejbat.

[II.2] "....Jó, dneska mají právo četníci." "Voní ho měli i dřív," ozval se vandrák, "já pamatuju, že na Kladně bejval četnickým rytmistrem nějakej pan Rotter. Von vám najednou začal pěstovat tyhlety, jak jim říkají, policejní psy tý vlčí povahy, že všechno vyslídějí, když jsou vyučení. A měl ten pan rytmistr na Kladně těch svejch psích učeníků plnou prdel...."

Sources: Petr Netopil, Josef Lada, Michal Dlouhý, Radko Pytlík

Also written:Bohdan Rotter cz

Literature

• Verordnungsblatt für die kaiserlich-königliche Landwehr K.k. Ministerium für Landesverteidigung 8.5.1916
• Produkce policejních psů Plzeňské listy 20.11.1909
• Die ersten österreichischen Gendarmeriehunde Das interessante Blatt 13.1.1910
• Der leuchtende Polizeihund Budweiser Zeitung 14.1.1910
• Policjeni pes Plzeňské listy 21.10.1910
• Eine Polizeihunde-Vorführung vor dem Thronfolger Prager Tagblatt 7.12.1910
• Zajímavá produkce s policejními a sanitními psy Jihočeské Listy 28.10.1916
• Für je tausende gefangene Italiener... Prager Tagblatt 4.11.1917
• Pes přítel člověka Jas 20.3.1931

	Wölfin
Search

Wölfin (Vlčka) was most probably the name of the police dog that is mentioned in connection with Rittmeister Rotter's experiments in Kladno where he lets police dogs chase tramps. In the novel the dog is referred to as a police dog and wolf-dog.

Background

Wölfin was a female police dog that Rittmeister Rotter reportedly brought in from Saarbrücken together with the male Wolf in 1909. It was probably one of those dogs Švejk had in mind when he told his anecdote. The author knew Rotter well and had surely been aware of and seen both dogs.

Wölfin was moreover bred at the kennel of Mr. Fuchs a Klamovka, next to the villa where Svět zvířat had their editorial offices and where Jaroslav Hašek worked as an editor. He would therefore have known the female dog well and in an article in the magazine 1 November 1909 it is stated that her training took place here at Klamovka.

On 16 October 1909 Rittmeister Rotter showed off the skills of Wölfin and a Doberman Pinscher called Petar on the premises of c.k. policejní ředitelství. The whole leadership of police HQ was present, amongst them Polizeikommissar Drašner and Ladislav Adamička (the brother of Josef Adamička). The article also states that Wölfin was bought from the kennel at Klamovka earlier in the year.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Taky vám dám příklad, jak se na Kladně zmejlil jeden policejní pes, vlčák toho známého rytmistra Rottera. Rytmistr Rotter pěstoval ty psy a dělal pokusy s vandráky, až se Kladensku počali všichni vandráci vyhejbat.

Sources: Petr Netopil, Michal Dlouhý

Literature

• Předvádení prvnich četnických psů na policejním ředitelství v Praze Svět žvířat 1.11.1909
• Die ersten österreichischen Gendarmeriehunde Das interessante Blatt 13.1.1910
• Dějiny služební kynologie Jiří Rulc

	Doctor Kallerson
Search Švejkův slovník

Hůla is of the opinion that Hašek invented the names Kallerson and Weiking

Kallerson is mentioned together with the psychiatrists Doctor Heveroch and Doctor Weiking as someone who had founded a school within the discipline.

Background

Kallerson was according to The Good Soldier Švejk a psychiatrist but there is no information available apart from what is stated in the novel. Břetislav Hůla assumed that the name is an invention as he was unable to verify the existence of any well known psychiatrist Kallerson.

If the psychiatrist isn't invented it is probably a case of a distorted name. In one of Hašek's stories a Karl Larsson features, a name that is phonetically similar. This person was however not a psychiatrist, he was head of the Czechoslovak Salvation Army.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Věc byla úplně jasnou. Spontánním projevem Švejkovým odpadla celá řada otázek a zůstaly jen některé nejdůležitější, aby s odpovědí potvrzeno bylo prvé mínění o Švejkovi na základě systému doktora psychiatrie Kallersona, doktora Heverocha i Angličana Weikinga.

Literature

• Zápas z Armádou spasy Pepíček Nový a jiné povídky, Jaroslav Hašek 1921

	Doctor Weiking
Search Švejkův slovník

Hůla is of the opinion that Hašek invented the names Kallerson and Weiking

Weiking is an Englishman mentioned together with the psychiatrists Doctor Heveroch and Doctor Kallerson. He had allegedly founded a certain school within the discipline of psychiatry.

Background

Weiking is supposed to have been an English psychiatrist but there is no information available apart from what is stated in The Good Soldier Švejk. The name doesn't sound partucularly English. Břetislav Hůla assumes that the names Doctor Kallerson and Weiking are inventions. Alternatively it is a distortion of the name of a real psychologist.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.3] Věc byla úplně jasnou. Spontánním projevem Švejkovým odpadla celá řada otázek a zůstaly jen některé nejdůležitější, aby s odpovědí potvrzeno bylo prvé mínění o Švejkovi na základě systému doktora psychiatrie Kallersona, doktora Heverocha i Angličana Weikinga.

	Virgin Mary
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Icon of Mary in Vladimir, Russia

Virgin Mary is named 33 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Virgin Mary was someone the inmates of the lunatic asylum could pretend to be. Otherwise she is already mentioned through the common Czech expression Ježíšmarjá. This is exclaimed by Švejk already in the first dialogue of the novel, when he hears the news about the assassination of Sarajevo and repeats itself 15 times. Her name is directly invoked several times, as both Marie and Maria.

Background

Virgin Mary was the mother of Christ and the principal saint of the Catholic Church. In the New Testament she is featured in the gospels and in the deeds of the Apostles. At the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431, the Council Fathers bestowed here the title Theotokos, 'Mother of God'. The Quran portrays here as selected by God above all women in the world; she is mentioned in seven chapters in the Quran, one of them with her name as the title. She features in numerous works of art, where she is usually just called 'Madonna' - 'Our Lady'.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Člověk se tam může vydávat za pánaboha nebo za panenku Marii, nebo za papeže, nebo za anglickýho krále, nebo za císaře pána, nebo za sv. Václava, ačkoliv ten poslední byl pořád svázanej a nahej a ležel v isolaci.

[II.4] Tak například na otázku, proč se nepřizná, odpověděl dle protokolu: "Já jsem zrovna v takový situaci, jako se voctnul jednou kvůli néjakejm obrazům Panny Marie sluha akademického malíře Panušky.

Also written:Panenka Marie Hašek Panna Maria cz Jungfrau Maria de

	The Pope
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Pius X, Wiener Bilder, 23.8.1914

Wiener Bilder, 23.8.1914.

The Pope was one of the persons the inmates of the lunatic asylum could pretend to be.

Background

The Pope is bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church, based in the Vatican. Pope from 1904 until 20 August 1914 was Pius X, who was succeeded by Benedict XV. Hence Pius still occupied the seat at the time Švejk was in the asylum (July 1914).

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Člověk se tam může vydávat za pánaboha nebo za panenku Marii, nebo za papeže, nebo za anglickýho krále, nebo za císaře pána, nebo za sv. Václava, ačkoliv ten poslední byl pořád svázanej a nahej a ležel v isolaci.

Also written:Papež cz Der Pabst de

Literature

• Pope St. Pius X: The Great Reformer Joseph F. X. Sladky 19.8.2013
• Svatý Otec Pius X. Zemřel Čech 21.8.1914
• Der Pabst is tot Salburger Nachrichten 21.8.1914
• Pabst Pius X. gestorben Wiener Bilder 23.8.1914

	King of England
Wikipedia czdeenno Search

George V before the war

King of England was as one of the persons the patients at the lunatic asylum could pretend to be, and that without repercussions.

Background

seems to refer more to the king as a title and is not necessarily a reference to George V who was king of Great Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth from 1910 to 1936. The title king of England hadn't formally existed since 1707, but then as now it was common to interchange the terms England, Great Britain and United Kingdom.

King George belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg, a noble family originating from Germany. He was cousin of both Kaiser Wilhelm II. and Tsar Nicholas II. He bore considerable physical resemblance to the Russian tsar. In 1917 the Royal House was renamed House of Windsor, one of several examples of politically motivated name changes during World War I.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Člověk se tam může vydávat za pánaboha nebo za panenku Marii, nebo za papeže, nebo za anglickýho krále, nebo za císaře pána, nebo za sv. Václava, ačkoliv ten poslední byl pořád svázanej a nahej a ležel v isolaci.

Also written:Anglický král cz Kongen av England nn

Literature

• King George V (1910 - 1936) Royal Family History

	Saint Wenceslaus
*907 Praha - †28.9.35 Stará Boleslav
Wikipedia czdeenno Search

Saint Wenceslaus is mentioned during Švejk's staty at Blazinec (the madhouse) when the author lists various persons or objects the inmates pretended to be.

He reappears in the anecdote about the chamberpot in Poděbrady which was claimed to be the helmet of Saint Wenceslaus.

Background

Saint Wenceslaus was prince (kníže) of Bohemia from 921 until his death. He was murdered by his brother Bohuslav, was canonised after his death and was eventually to become the Czech patron saint. Wenceslaus is still the patron saint of the Czech people and the Czech Republic. His feast day is 28 September and is also a Czech national holiday.

Václavské náměstí is named after him and in 1912 a big equestrian statue of him was unveiled at the southern end of the street, in front of Museum. Václav is still today one of the most common Czech male names.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] 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.

[III.3] 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.

Also written:Svatý Václav cz Heiliger Wenzel de

	Archbishop
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Lev Skrbenský z Hříště, Zlatá Praha, 1899

Archbishop is referred to when one of the patients at Blázinec claims that he is archbishop. In [I.9] he is mentioned again because he received Feldkurat Katz and seemingly supported the latter in his attempt to join the priest's seminary. See Seminář.

Background

may arguably refer to the Roman-catholic archbishop of Prague although the text doesn't indicate any particular archbishop, and is rather used as a generic term. In [I.9] there is however no doubt that the author writes about the archbishop of Prague.

In office at the time was Lev Skrbenský z Hříště (1863-1938) who held the seat from 1899 to 1916. He was a Czech cleric and nobleman who before becoming archbishop had served for 10 years as field chaplain in k.u.k. Heer.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Byl tam taky jeden, kterej křičel, že je arcibiskupem, ale ten nic jiného nedělal, než jen žral a ještě něco dělal, s odpuštěním, víte, jak se to může rýmovat, ale tam se žádnej za to nestydí. Jeden se tam dokonce vydával za svatýho Cyrila a Metoděje, aby dostával dvě porce.

Also written:Arcibiskup cz Erzbischof de Erkebiskopen nn

Literature

• Lev Svob. pan Skrbenský z Hříště Zlatá Praha, 1899 č.48
• Arcidiecéze pražská Wikipedie (cz)
• Historie arcidiecéze Arcibiskupství Pražké

	Saint Cyril
*827 Solun (Thessaloniki) - †869 Roma
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Cyril in Olomouc

Saint Cyril was mentioned when Švejk told about his stay in the lunatic asylum. One of the inmates claimed to be Saints Cyril and Methodius in order to get two portions.

Background

Saint Cyril was a Greek missionary, later to become a saint, who together with his brother Methodius startet the christianisation of the Slavic peoples. The Cyrillic alphabet is named after him. During his lifetime he was known as Constantin.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Jeden se tam dokonce vydával za svatýho Cyrila a Metoděje, aby dostával dvě porce.

Also written:Svatý Cyril cz Sankt Kyrill de

	Saint Methodius
*815 Solun (Thessaloniki) - †6.4.885 Mähren
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Methodius in Olomouc

Saint Methodius was mentioned when Švejk told about his stay in the lunatic asylum. One of the inmates claimed to be Saints Cyril and Methodius in order to get two portions.

Background

Saint Methodius was a Greek missionary, later to become a saint, who together with his younger brother Cyril startet the christianisation of the Slavic peoples. During his lifetime he was known as Michael. The two brothers are often referred to as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They translated the Bible to what is now called Old Church Slavonic.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Jeden se tam dokonce vydával za svatýho Cyrila a Metoděje, aby dostával dvě porce.

Also written:Svatý Metoděj cz Sankt Method de

	Publisher Otto, Jan
*8.11.1841 Přibyslav - †29.5.1916 Praha
Wikipedia czdeen Search Švejkův slovník

Otto was indirectly mentioned in connection with the mental patient who claimed to be the 16th part of Otto's Encyclopaedia.

Background

Otto was a Czech publisher best known for publishing Ottův slovník naučný. He also published literature, text books and magazines. Amongst the latter were Zlatá Praha and Světozor which Jaroslav Hašek contributed to. The head office of the publishing house J. Otto was located at Karlovo náměstí No. 34 and they also had a branch office in Vienna.

Otto's son studied at Obchodní akademie at the same time as Jaroslav Hašek (1899-1902). Otto also ran a foundation to support poor students at the academy.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] Nejzuřivější byl jeden pán, kerej se vydával za 16. díl Ottova slovníku naučného a každého prosil, aby ho otevřel a našel heslo ,Kartonážní šička’, jinak že je ztracenej.

Sources: Radko Pytlík, Marek Šimoňák

Literature

• Ottův slovník naučný Marek Šimoňák
• Ottův podpůrný fond pro chudé posluchače Českoslovánské Akademia Obchodní Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních (1910)
• J. Otto Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních (1910)

	General Windischgrätz
*11.5.1787 Brussel - †21.3.1862 Wien
Wikipedia czdeensv Search Švejkův slovník

Alfred Füsrt zu Windisch-Graetz

Břetislav Hůla, 1951

© LA-PNP

Oberst Fürst Windischgrätz, commander of IR. 35 reported dead, 24 June 1859

Oesterreichischer Soldatenfreund, 2.7.1859.

Windischgrätz is first only referred to as a song which Švejk mentions when one of the court doctors asks him which songs he knows.

In [I.7] he sings parts of the song in bed, stricken by rheumatism and fortified by patriotic fervour, just before he is carted off to war in a wheelchair by Mrs. Müllerová.

Background

Windischgrätz and who the song refers to is somewhat unclear. It has long been believed that the person in question was general Alfred I. Fürst zu Windisch-Graetz (ref. Břetislav Hůla, 1951). He was a famous commander who brutally suppressed the revolutions of 1848, both in Prague and Vienna.

The song in question however refers to events during the second Italian war of independence in 1859, and on this occasion the old field marshal was not involved. On the other hand, his nephew and son-in-law was on duty: Karl Vinzenz (1821-1859), colonel and commander of Infanterieregiment Nr. 35 (Pilsen), and he even fell at Solferino 25 June 1859. On 18 July his body was brought back to Prague, and the event received extensive press coverage.

Conflicting notes

The latest German translation of The Good Soldier Švejk (Antonín Brousek, Reclam Verlag, 2014) provides extensive Anmerkungen (annotations). Both persons are mentioned, but at the first occurrence of the name it claims that Alfred I. is the person in question. On the next mention it is Karl Vinzenz, despite the indisputable fact that Švejk refers to the same song on both occasions. Only a thorough investigation of the etymology behind the song may shed proper light on these contradictions.

The song in question is also quoted in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí and in a context that is very similar[a].

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.4] A také to dál neumím,“ vzdychl Švejk. „Znám ještě první sloku z ,Kde domov můj’ a potom ,Jenerál Windischgrätz a vojenští páni od východu slunce vojnu započali’ a ještě pár takových národních písniček jako ,Zachovej nám, Hospodine’ a ,Když jsme táhli k Jaroměři’ a ,Tisíckrát pozdravujeme Tebe’...“

[I.7] Jenerál Windischgrätz a vojenští páni od východu slunce vojnu započali, hop, hop, hop!

Vojnu započali, takto jsou zvolali: „Pomoz nám Kristus pán s panenkou Marií, hop, hop, hop!“

Sources: Antonín Brousek, Militär-Zeitung

Literature

• Generál Windischgrätz a vojenští páni Jaroslav Šerák
• Unter den gebliebenen soll sich der Fürst Karl v. Windischgätz befinden... Innsbrucker Nachrichten 30.6.1859
• Offizielle Verlust-Eingabe über die Schlacht am 24. Juni 1859. Oesterreichischer Soldatenfreund 2.7.1859
• Den Manen der gefallenen (nekrolog) Oesterreichischer Soldatenfreund 20.7.1859
• Windgalle - Windischgrätz Meyers Konversationslexicon
• Alfred I. zu Windisch-Graetz, Ehe und Kinder Wikipedia.de

	Inspektor Braun
Search Švejkova cesta Švejkův slovník

Police report, 5 January 1909

Braun was a sadistic inspector at Salmova ulice police station. The author compared him to Emperor Nero. His abrupt order when Švejk entered was: "put him behind bars!".

Background

If Braun was inspired any particular person it was most likely Karel Fahoun who was chief inspector at Policejní komisařství Salmova ulice at least from 1906 until 1910. From 1903 to 1912 Jaroslav Hašek was repeatedly in touch with this police station due to public order offences and Fahoun signed documents that directly implicated the author. Fahoun had moved on to Vinohrady by 1911, and in 1917 he had become head of c.k. policejní ředitelství.

It has also been claimed that the police inspector and the author were personal friends, but this is categorically refuted by Břetislav Hůla. It is easy to imagine that Hašek's many appearances at this police station served as inspiration for Švejk's stay there, albeit displaced in time. There is no known records that connect the author with this police station after outbreak of war.

Another possible inspiration is the policeman Friedrich Brauner who held a similar post at the police station in Nusle. Jaroslav Hašek also knew this district, not the least from his time in the Anarchist movment. There is however no record of him having been detained here.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.5] Po krásných slunných dnech v blázinci přišly na Švejka hodiny plné pronásledování. Policejní inspektor Braun aranžoval scénu setkání se Švejkem s krutostí římských pochopů doby roztomilého císaře Nerona. Tvrdě, jako tenkrát, když oni říkali: „Hoďte toho lumpa křesťana lvům,“ řekl inspektor Braun: „Dejte ho za katr!“ Ani o slovíčko více, ani méně. Jenom oči pana policejního inspektora Brauna zasvítily přitom zvláštní, perversní rozkoší.

Sources: Jaroslav Šerák

	Emperor Nero
*15.12.37 Antium (no Anzio) - †9.6.68 Roma
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Nero is mentioned when the author compares him unfavourably with police inspector Inspektor Braun.

Background

Nero was Roman emperor from 54 AD. The chronicles portray Nero as a tyrant and libertarian and he is known as the Emperor who "played while Rome was on fire", and an early persecutor of Christians. These stories originate from Tacitus, Svetonius and Cassius Dio. But other contemporary sources claim that Nero really was very popular in his lifetime. The first part of his time as Emperor was characterized by stability and prosperity, much thanks to his advisers, amongst them the philosopher Seneca. But Nero initiate many expensive building projects which eventually led to an economic crisis.

In 66 AD Nero added the title of "Imperator" to his name. The empire experienced insurgencies because of the economic problems. After the people had rebelled in 68 AD he was deposed by the senate. Nero though that the Senate would execute him, so he took his own life.

As Emperor he used the official name Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, but was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.5] Policejní inspektor Braun aranžoval scénu setkání se Švejkem s krutostí římských pochopů doby roztomilého císaře Nerona. Tvrdě, jako tenkrát, když oni říkali: „Hoďte toho lumpa křesťana lvům,“ řekl inspektor Braun: „Dejte ho za katr!“

Sources: Wikipedia

Also written:Neron Hašek Nerone it

	Mareček, Josef
Search Švejkův slovník

Josef Mareček was a merchant from Vršovice who had been in Švejk's cell at Salmova ulice police station the previous year. He had written his name, the date of 5 June 1913, and his profession on the cell wall. Nothing more is revealed about him.

Background

Josef Mareček may have borrowed the name (or more) from a real person, although the facts about the people listed in the address book from 1910 do not quite correspond to the information about the man who wrote on the cell wall. Of the five Marečeks listed in the address book a grocery merchant from Vinohrady seems the likeliest candidate.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.5] Jiný opět prostě konstatoval fakt: „Seděl jsem zde 5. června 1913 a bylo se mnou slušně zacházeno. Josef Mareček, obchodník s Vršovic.“

	The Devil
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© Josef Lada

The Devil is named 42 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

The Devil name is first invoked when the interrogator at c.k. policejní ředitelství gets uptight about Švejks reassurance that his exclamation: "Long live the Emperor, we'll win this war!" was not meant ironically. His name occurs repeatedly, mostly in the form of Czech and German swear words.

Background

The Devil is a mythological figure in numerous religions; symbolising evil. Alternative names are Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles and Beelzebub. In monotheist religions, the Devil is generally considered the opposite of God. He presides in Hell as opposed to God who rules in Heaven. The Devil has a bad name, he is invoked whenever one seeks to convey a negative association, typically uttered through so-called swearwords. As a symbolical expression, the word devil through it's many variations, may be one of the most used ever.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.6] Vem vás čert, Švejku,“ řekla nakonec úřední brada, „jestli se sem ještě jednou dostanete,tak se vás vůbec nebudu na nic ptát a poputujete přímo k vojenskému soudu na Hradčany. Rozuměl jste?

[I.14.6] Zatímco Švejk koupal Maxa, plukovník, bývalý jeho majitel, strašně doma láteřil a vyhrožoval, že postaví toho, kdo mu psa ukradl, před válečný soud, že ho dá zastřelit, pověsit, zavřít na dvacet let a rozsekat. „Der Teufel soll den Kerl buserieren,“ ozývalo se v bytě plukovníka, až se třásla okna, „mit solchem Meuchelmördern werde ich bald fertig.“

Also written:Čert cz Der Teufel de

	Čimpera
Search Švejkova cesta Švejkův slovník

"Encyklopedie pro milovníky Švejka". Milan Hodík

Čimpera owned a piece of land in Straškov no.5 that he advertised for sale in a newspaper found at U kalicha. Švejk read the advert out loud to demonstrate his total lack of interest in the attention of detective Bretschneider who again sought to trap him.

Background

A Václav Čimpera actually lived in Straškov no. 5 in 1910 . This is information from Encyklopedie pro milovníky Švejka, II., Hodík a Landa, 1999. The document is from 22 February 1910. It is not known why (or whether) Čimpera later sold the property.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.6] Švejk sňal s věšáku nějaké noviny a prohlížeje si zadní stranu inserátů, ozval se: „Tak vida, tenhle Čimpera v Straškově č. 5, p. Račiněves, prodá hospodářství s třinácti korci vlastních polí, škola a dráha na místě.“ Bretschneider nervosně zabubnoval prsty a obraceje se k Švejkovi řekl: „To se divím, proč vás to hospodářství zajímá, pane Švejku.“

Sources: Milan Hodík, Jaroslav Šerák

	Miss Mařena
Search

Mařena was a woman who the porter at the nigh café Mimosa had brought home. This happened when Švejk got back from his time in custody and discovered that Mrs. Müllerová had rented his room out, and that in his bed slept the night porter and the mentioned woman. Mařenay contributed to the novel with a single utterance when she dressed down Švejk with the select words: "you son of an Archbishop!"

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.6] „Já jsem chtěl spát do osmi večer,“ zaraženě ozval se portýr, navlékaje kalhoty, „já platím denně z postele dvě koruny té paní a můžu si sem vodit slečny z kavárny. Mařeno, vstávej!“

	Detective Kalous
Search Švejkův slovník

Kalous was police agent who, like detective Bretschneider, bought dogs from Švejk in order to lure something compromising out of him. He got nowhere and soon disappeared from the plot.

Background

The detective may have been inspired by Josef Kalous, a policeman in Nusle who is listed in the address book of 1910.

On 13 March 1913 Karikatury printed a story by Jaroslav Hašek called The detective Kalous. It was signed Richard Mayer, one of the many pseudonyms the author used.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.6] Pak tam šel koupit psa detektiv Kalous a vrátil se s vyjevenou potvorou, připomínající hyenu skvrnitou, s hřívou škotského ovčáka, a v položkách tajného fondu přibyla nová: D...90 K.

Literature

• Pan Kalous detektivem Jaroslav Hašek
• Jak Cetlička volil Jaroslav Hašek. Právo lidu. 20.11.1913

	Doctor Pávek
Search Švejkův slovník

Doctors in 1910

Pávek was a medical doctor from Vinohrady who prescribed Švejk bromium against his rheumatism, belligerance and exaggerated patriotism.

Background

The address book of Prague (1910) does not show up any doktor Pávek. This also goes for the address book of Vinohrady (1912).

The surname Pávek also shows up in the story How Mr. Cetlička voted from 1913, but here there is no question of a doctor.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.7] A tak byl probuzen obtloustlým pánem, který mu chvíli držel ruku na čele a říkal: „Nebojte se, já jsem doktor Pávek z Vinohrad - ukažte ruku - tenhle teploměr si dejte pod paždí... Tak - ukažte jazyk - ještě víc - držte jazyk - na co zemřel váš pan otec a vaše matka?“ A tak v době, kdy Vídeň si přála, aby všichni národové Rakousko-Uherska dávali nejskvělejší příklady věrnosti a oddanosti, předepsal doktor Pávek Švejkovi proti jeho vlasteneckému nadšení brom a doporučoval statečnému a hodnému vojínu Švejkovi, aby nemyslil na vojnu.

Literature

• Jak Cetlička volil Jaroslav Hašek, Právo lidu 20.11.1913

	Mucius Scaevola
Wikipedia deenlano Search

Scaevola and king Porsena by Bernardo Cavellino

Ein zweiter Mucius Scaevola. Die neue Zeitung, 13.6.1915.

Die Neue Zeitung, 13.6.1915.

Mucius Scaevola is mentioned in an article in Pražské úřední novinty and compared to Švejk in the news about the incident where Švejk gets pushed off to the draft commission in a wheel-chair. The headline reads: "The patriotism of a cripple".

Background

Mucius Scaevola was a known figure from ancient Rome who through his bravery is supposed to have saved the city during the Ethruschian siege of 508 BC. He was send to the enemy's camp to murder king Porsena but was captured. To show the king how little physical sufferings meant to a Roman soldier he held his hand in the fire without showing any signs of pain. The king released Mucius and offered peace. It has not be established if this story has a factual background but is in any cased based on the writing of Roman historian Titus Livius.

Symbol in stories of war heroism

Mucius and his burnt hand often appears as symbolism in stories about heroic deeds that the press of the Dual Monarchy printed during the war, particularly during the summer of 1915. References can also be found in the Czech press, even before the war. Amongst the papers who printed these stories in 1915 were Neue Freie Presse and Pester Lloyd. One such story appeared in June 1915 and was printed in several newspapers, including Pester Lloyd. It refers to an attack on Italian coastal defences by Porto Corsini on 24 May 1915, led by admiral Miklos Horthy. The admiral is better known as the inter-war and World War II Hungarian dictator who led his country to war as an allied of Nazi Germany.

Reuse of themes

Many themes from the novel have earlier appeared in short stories by Jaroslav Hašek, so also Mucius: Jak se Baluška naučil lhát (How Baluška learned to lie), first printed in Právo lidu, Dělnická besídka, 2 March 1913.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.7] O celé této události objevil se v „Pražských úředních novinách“ tento článek:

[I.7] Vlastenectví mrzáka: Včera dopoledne byli chodci na hlavních pražských třídách svědky scény, která krásně mluví o tom, že v této veliké a vážné době i synové našeho národa mohou dáti nejskvělejší příklady věrnosti a oddanosti k trůnu stařičkého mocnáře. Zdá se nám, že se vrátily doby starých Řeků a Římanů, kdy Mucius Scaevola dal se odvésti do boje, nedbaje své upálené ruky.

Literature

• Jak se Baluška naučil lhát Jaroslav Hašek
• Der Kampf um Kanal von Porto Corsini Pester Lloyd 7.6.1915
• Ein zweiter Mucius Scaevola Die Neue Zeitung 13.6.1915
• Historie učitelkou Humoristické listy 2.5.1890

	Lynch, William
Wikipedia czdeenno Search

Dunkle Geschichten aus dem Alten Österreich

Lynch is mentioned indirectly by the term "lycnhing". It is Prager Tagblatt who report that Czech agents of the Entente tried to lynch the cripple Švejk as he was wheeled to Odvodní komise in a wheelchair. The brave cripple was protected by Germans.

Background

Lynch (Charles or William) are both the probable candidates for the etymological origin of the term "lynching". Both lived in the 18th century, were judges and the circumstance was the American war of independence (1776-1783). In the US the term was later mostly used in connection with abuses directed against blacks. Austrian newspapers used the term "Lynchjustiz" already before 1840, mostly in connection with cases in the US (but not exclusively there).

It has not been possible to find anything in Prager Tagblatt that relates to the quote from the novel and fatal lynching was unusual amongst civilians in Austria-Hungary, even during the war. Arbitrary justice was however widespread at the front. It was used against both the enemy population and own subjects who were suspected of co-operating with the enemy. The victims were mostly Ukrainians and South Slavs.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.7] Ve stejném smyslu psal i Prager Tagblatt, který končil. svůj článek slovy, že mrzáka dobrovolce vyprovázel zástup Němců, kteří ho svými těly chránili před lynčováním ze strany českých agentů známé Dohody.

	Doctor Bautze
Search Švejkův slovník

Jaroslav R. Veselý, Květy,  7.9.1968.

Pester Lloyd, 24.10.1914.

Bautze was head officer at the medical examination board at Střelecký ostrov. He exposed all malingerers in the most efficient and ruthless manner. He is the man behind one of the most famous quotes from Švejk: Das ganze tschechische Volk ist eine Simulantenbande (the whole Czech nation is a pack of malingerers). Švejk suffered the same fate as the other 11,000 malingerers Bautze had smoked out during his ten weeks in service.

Background

Bautze has no obvious model but we know with near certainty that Jaroslav Hašek in mid December 1914 appeared before the Landsturm draft commission at Střelecký ostrov. He would have known who examined him, and might have borrowed traits for his literary figure from this person. Still no dr. Bautze is found in the address books of Prague from the years before the war.

In an article in Květy from 7 September 1968 Jaroslav R. Veselý claimed that some Dr. Halbhuber examined Josef Švejk at Střelecký ostrov, and his claim at first sight seems worth investigating. Dr. Franz Halbhuber was indeed an army doctor and by all accounts extremely cruel to the soldiers who were unlucky enough to get within his reach. He sent hundreds of ill and crippled soldiers back to the front and was also known as a German chauvinist, all this making him very unpopular amongst the Czech population.

There are however many reasons to doubt the veracity of Veselý's account. Halbhuber served in Prague only from late 1916 to 1918. He was "Oberstabsarzt" at Vojenská nemocnice na Karlově náměstí, and before that he had been in the same function in Košice and Litoměřice. That he was involved with the Landsturm draft commission (see Odvodní komise) in 1914 as Veselý claims, is difficult to believe, particularly in view of a news item from Pester Lloyd 24 October 1914 that says Halbhuber at the time, in Košice, was receiving a delegation led by Hungarian prime minister Count Tisza. October 1914 was precisely when Josef Švejk and others who were born in 1892 would have appeared before the commission (Josef was by all accounts to appear on the 20th, that is if the story about him being "superarbitrated" is true at all ...). Some temporary assignment can obviously not be ruled out, but for this to be verified, Halbhuber's military records would need to be consulted.

Still it is quite possible that Halbhuber and other brutal medics may have inspired the author to create the characters Bautze and Doctor Grünstein. Halbhuber had a number of similarities with both of them, for instance treating seriously ill people as malingerers and sending them to the front. In addition he was notoriously infamous so Hašek surely knew about him.

Halbhuber's predecessor as "Oberstabsarzt", MUDr. Jaromír Pečírka, may be the person who examined Hašek at Střelecký ostrov in 1914, or at least led the draft commission. But that he in any way served as model for those very German medics appears improbable. Pečírka was Czech and his obituary contradicts any suggestion that he in any way had anything in common with the two obnoxious doctors that Švejk encountered.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.7] Zejména ne vrchní vojenský lékař Bautze. Byl to muž neúprosný, který ve všem viděl podvodný pokus uniknout vojně, frontě, kulce a šrapnelům. Známý jest jeho výrok: „Das ganze tschechische Volk ist eine Simulantenbande.“ Za deset týdnů své činnosti vymýtil z 11.000 civilistů 10.999 simulantů a byl by se dostal na kobylku i tomu jedenáctitisícímu, kdyby nebyla toho šťastného člověka právě v tom okamžiku, když na něho zařval „Kehrt euch!“ ranila mrtvice. „Odneste toho simulanta,“ řekl Bautze, když zjistil, že je muž mrtev.

Literature

• Die Inspektionsreise des Ministerpräsidenten Pester Lloyd 24.10.1914
• Gräfin Mary Coudenhove Prager Tagblatt 12.5.1916
• Enthüllungen über ärtzliche Kriegsverbrecher Salzburger Wacht 18.4.1923
• Halbhuber Lidové noviny 25.4.1923
• Halbhuber Lidové noviny 12.8.1923
• Za generálem Dr. Pečírkou Důstojnické listy 16.3.1933

	Marschall Radetzky, Johann Joseph Wenzel
*2.11.1776 Třebnice - †5.1.1858 Milano
Wikipedia czdeenno Search Švejkova cesta Švejkův slovník

Radetzky, 1857

Bohemia,  6.1.1858.

Národní listy, 23.4.1919.

Radetzky is named 13 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Radetzky is mentioned when Švejk is led past a statue of him on the way to the garrison prison at Hradčany. Švejk obviously honoured him by saluting.

Radetzky is mentioned several times later in the novel. He appears in the article that deputy Barabás wrote in Pester Lloyd and claims centre stage during the field mass that Feldoberkurat Ibl serves in Királyhida before the march battalion's departure to the front.

The Radetzky march is mentioned directly in [IV.1] Dobromil where the not very sober interrogator/interpreter hums it but adds his own lyrics.

Background

Radetzky was a famous Czech nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He was Austria's most prominent commander in the first half of the 19th century and distinguished himself during the war in Italy in 1848/49 where his armies emerged victorious in the battles of Custoza, Santa Lucia and Novara. He served in Austria's army for 72 years, under five emperors, participated in 17 field operations, and was decorated 146 times.

In 1848 Johann Strauss the Elder composed the famous Radetzky march which even today is played at the end of the Vienna New Year Concerts.

The statue

The statue that is mentioned in the novel stood at Malostranské náměstí in and was removed in 1919. It is now stored in the Lapidárium in Holešovice, a subsidiary of the National Museum.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.7] Bajonety svítily v záři slunce a na Malé Straně obrátil se Švejk před pomníkem Radeckého k zástupu, který je vyprovázel: „Na Bělehrad! Na Bělehrad!“ A maršálek Radecký snivě se díval ze svého pomníku za vzdalujícím se dobrým vojákem Švejkem s rekrutskou kytkou na kabátě, kulhajícím na starých berlích, zatímco sděloval nějaký vážný pán lidem kolem, že vedou desentéra.

[II.4] ... o čemž svědčí celá řada vynikajících českých vojevůdců, z nichž vzpomínáme slavné postavy maršálka Radeckého a jiných obranců rakousko-uherského mocnářství.

Also written:Radecký cz

Literature

• Radetzky marsch Jaroslav Šerák
• Slavnost u pomníku polního maršála Radeckého VHÚ
• Pomník maršála Radeckého se možná vrátí na Malostranské náměstí v Praze Zdeňka Kuchyňová, Radio Praha
• Radetzky Meyers Konversationslexicon
• Polní maršál Josef Václav Radecký Světozor 21.11.1941

	Bruno, Giordano
*1548 Nola - †17.2.1600 Roma
Wikipedia czdeenitno Search

Giordano Bruno is mentioned by a prisoner at Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany who attempts to feign insanity by yelling day and night: "Giordano Bruno's fire is still smouldering, renew the process against Galileo!"

Background

Giordano Bruno was an Italian astronomer and philosopher who was burned as a heretic in 1600. Finally, in the year 2000 the Papal Cultural Council and a theological commission declared his execution as illegal.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Nejlepší,“ mínil jeden ze simulantů, „dá se simulovat šílenství. Z našeho učitelského sboru jsou vedle v cimře dva, jeden neustále křičí dnem i nocí: ,Hranice Giordana Bruna ještě dýmá, obnovte proces Galileův!’ a ten druhý štěká, napřed třikrát pomalu: haf - haf - haf, potom pětkrát rychle za sebou: hafhafhafhafhaf, a zas pomalu, a tak to jde neustále.

	Galilei, Galileo
*15.2.1564 Pisa - †8.1.1642 Arcetri
Wikipedia czdeenitnnno Search

Galilée devant le Saint-Office au Vatican. Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury, 1847

Galileo is mentioned because a recruit at Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany was simulating madness by shouting day after day: "Giordano Giordano Bruno's fire is still smouldering, renew the process against Galileo!"

In Putim in [II.2] he is mentioned again when Švejk's explains his anabasis to Wachtmeister Flanderka. Here the author quotes an expression that is attributed to Galieo.

Background

Galileo was an Italian scientist, best known for his work in the fields of astronomy and physics. He is regarded as the founder of experimental natural sciences.

The process that is mentioned in The Good Soldier Švejk was a trial that was conducted in 1633 as a result of Galileo's book Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo (Dialogue concerning the two chief World Systems). The systems being discussed in the book is the heliocentric (Copernicus) and the geocentric (Ptolemy).

The book caused anger in clerical circles and Galileo was put before a papal court. Here he withdrew his theories and thus avoided being sentenced to death by burning. He was found guilty of heresy and abjurium, sentenced to life imprisonment, albeit soon converted to house arrest. During interrogation when he was forced to retract his heliocentrical world view, he allegedly said about the earth: "and yet it moves" (Eppur si muove)[a]. It is this statement that the author refers to in connection with Švejk being arrested by Wachtmeister Flanderka in Putim.

Only in 1835 did the Catholic Church withdraw the ban of the book, but the final rehabilitation of the author only followed in 1992.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Nejlepší,“ mínil jeden ze simulantů, „dá se simulovat šílenství. Z našeho učitelského sboru jsou vedle v cimře dva, jeden neustále křičí dnem i nocí: ,Hranice Giordana Bruna ještě dýmá, obnovte proces Galileův!’ a ten druhý štěká, napřed třikrát pomalu: haf - haf - haf, potom pětkrát rychle za sebou: hafhafhafhafhaf, a zas pomalu, a tak to jde neustále.

[II.2] Strážmistr podíval se laskavě na Švejka, který klidně a důstojně řekl: „A přece jdu do Budějovic.“ Bylo to víc než Galileovo: „A přece se točí!“ Poněvadž ten to musel říct patrně asi hodně vztekle.

	Henčlů, Franta
Search Švejkův slovník

Franta Henčlů (František Henčl) was a soldier from Hluboká who was given two years in prison after having informed members of parliament about maltreatment of soldiers. This is revealed in an anecdote Švejk tells his fellow malingerers at the military hospital at Hradčany. The episode happened during Švejk's period of national service and it is revealed that he at the time served in 11. Kompanie.

Background

This story surely has some connection to real events, but attempts to pinpoint it directly have so far proved futile. Before the war there were several reports in the press about mistreatment of soldiers, and at least one involving IR 91.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Nějakej ministr poslal k nám komisi, aby to vyšetřila, a nějakej Franta Henčlů ze Hluboký dostal potom dva roky, poněvadž to byl ten, co se vobrátil do Vídně k poslancům kvůli tý facce, kerou dostal na cvičišti od pana obršta.

	Doctor Grünstein
Search Švejkův slovník

Military head doctors in 1906.

Grünstein is named 18 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Grünstein was head doctor at the garrison at Hradčany where the malingerers were undergoing treatment. Doctor Grünstein made sure they got the demon of sabotage exorcised by medical means like quinine, aspirin, enema, stomach pumping and a strict diet. See Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany.

Background

Grünstein doesn't have an obvious model from real life. Although Jaroslav Hašek was admitted to a military hospital in 1915, this was in Budějovice so any person that may have served as inspiration for Grünstein may better be looked for there and not in Prague.

Dr. Halbhuber

That said, Hašek may also have been inspired by people he had only heard of or read about. We know that the head medic at Hradčany in 1916 was Dr. Josef Krejčí, and that his superior at the main military hospital at Karlovo náměstí was the infamous and hated Dr. Franz Halbhuber. The latter was well known and Hašek probably knew about him. As such Halbhuber may well have lent his dubious qualities to both Grünstein and Doctor Bautze.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Přiblížila se doba odpolední visity. Vojenský lékař Grünstein chodil od postele k posteli a za ním sanitní poddůstojník se zápisní knihou. „Macuna?“ „Zde!“ „Klystýr a aspirin! - Pokorný?!“ „Zde!“ „Vypláchnout žaludek a chinin! - Kovařík?!“

Literature

• Enthüllungen über ärtzliche Kriegsverbrecher Salzburger Wacht 18.4.1923

	Macuna
Search Švejkův slovník

Macuna was one of the malingerer who was called up for treatment by Doctor Grünstein. He was treated with anema and aspirin. See Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Přiblížila se doba odpolední visity. Vojenský lékař Grünstein chodil od postele k posteli a za ním sanitní poddůstojník se zápisní knihou. „Macuna?“ „Zde!“ „Klystýr a aspirin! - Pokorný?!“ „Zde!“ „Vypláchnout žaludek a chinin! - Kovařík?!“

	Pokorný
Search Švejkův slovník

Pokorný was one of the malingerer who was called up for treatment by Doctor Grünstein. He was treated with stomach pumping and quinine. See Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Přiblížila se doba odpolední visity. Vojenský lékař Grünstein chodil od postele k posteli a za ním sanitní poddůstojník se zápisní knihou. „Macuna?“ „Zde!“ „Klystýr a aspirin! - Pokorný?!“ „Zde!“ „Vypláchnout žaludek a chinin! - Kovařík?!“

	Kovařík
Search Švejkův slovník

Kovařík was one of the malingerer who was called up for treatment by Doctor Grünstein. He was given enema and aspirin. But soon after he quietly, from his bed by the window, he suddenly reported fit for duty, and Grünstein awarded him with an enema for the road. See Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] „Vypláchnout žaludek a chinin! - Kovařík?!“ „Zde!“ „Klystýr a aspirin!

[I.8] "Poslušně hlásím, pane obrarct," ozvalo se tiše od postele u okna, "já už jsem zdravej, já už v noci pozoroval, že mne záducha přešla." "Jmenujete se?" "Kovařík, poslušně hlásím, mám dostat klystýr:" "Dobře, klystýr dostanete ještě na cestu," rozhodl dr. Grünstein, "abyste si nestěžoval, že jsme vás tady neléčili".

	Koťátko
Search Švejkův slovník

Koťátko was one of the malingerer who was called up for treatment by Doctor Grünstein. He was treated with stomach pumping and quinine. See Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany.

Background

There is no evidence to suggest that the inspiration for this character is anything more than a borrowed surname. See Fähnrich Koťátko for further information.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] „Vypláchnout žaludek a chinin! - Kovařík?!“ „Zde!“ „Klystýr a aspirin! - Koťátko?!“ „Zde!“ „Vypláchnout žaludek a chinin!“ A tak to šlo, jeden za druhým, bez milosti, mechanicky, řízně.

	Socrates
*4.6.469 f.kr Aten - †399 f.kr Aten
Wikipedia czdeennnno Search

La mort de Socrate, Jacques-Louis David, 1787

Socrates is mentioned because not even he emptied the poison chalice with such calm as Švejk drank quinine.

Background

Socrates was a Greek philosopher, one of the all time greats, and regarded as one of the founders of Western philosophy. The outspoken philosopher was late is his life accused and convicted of impiety and having corrupted the youth. He was sentenced to either exile from Athens or to take his own life by a method of his own choice. He chose the latter by emptying a chalice of poison.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Ani Sokrates nepil svou číši bolehlavu s takovým klidem jako chinin Švejk, na kterém vyzkoušel dr Grünstein všechny stupně trápení.

Also written:Sókratés cz

	Baronesse von Botzenheim
Search Švejkův slovník

The baroness watches Švejk devour his gifts

České slovo, 8.12.1923.

Von Botzenheim was the widow of an infantry general. She had read about Švejk's exploits in Bohemia. The editors had urged readers to collect money for the brave cripple, who brimming with patriotism was pushed to mustering in a wheelchair. The baroness brought splendid gifts for Švejk, amongst them a bottle of war liquor with the inscription Gott Strafe England! The author mocks the poor Czech of the German-speaking baroness and her visit ranks amongst the most famous episodes of the novel.

Background

Botzenheim is a surname that is impossible to find in name databases and is surely an invention. Needless to say no such noble family existed[a] and there is no trace of any Botzenheim (general or other) in Schematismus or other military records. Nor does the surname reflect any known geographical entity.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] V té době měla vdova po generálovi pěchoty baronka von Botzenheim velice mnoho starostí, aby vypátrala toho vojáka, o kterém uveřejnila nedávno Bohemie zprávu, jak se dal vozit, on, mrzák, na vozíku pro nemocné a křičel: „Na Bělehrad!“, kterýž vlastenecký projev dal původ redakci „Bohemie“ k vyzvání čtenářů, aby konali sbírky ve prospěch loyálního hrdiny-mrzáka.

	Editor Filip, Otakar
*1.7.1874 Praha - †10.4.1931 Praha
Search Švejkův slovník

Národní politika, 18.8.1915.

On his 50th birthday. Národní listy 1.7.1924

Národní Listy, 11.4.1931.

Filip was probably the person the narrator had in mind as, quote: author of Stories from the life of our monarch and editor in chief of Československá Republika.

Background

was a Czech journalist. author, and illustrator, and long time editor of local news in official newspapers that were published in Prague both under Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The book that is referred to he actually wrote, albeit with a title that differs somewhat from the one given in the novel. It was published in 1910 and contained 242 pages. That he was editor in chief of Československá Republika isn't entirely true, he was one of the board of editors. Filip specialised in reports and literature about Prague and published several books. See also Pražské úřední noviny.

The full title of the book Jaroslav Hašek refers to was: Osmdesátiletý mocnář: Význačné události a zajímavé obrazy ze života jeho veličenstva císaře a krále Františka Josefa I. Translated: The eighy year old monarch: significant events and interesting pictures from the life of His Majesty Emperor and King Franz Josef I.

On 18 August 1915, ironically on the very day that Jaroslav Hašek was awarded the small silver medal for bravery, an advert for a patriotic book appeared in his home town. It was titled The supreme protector of Czech children, His Highness Emperor and King Franz Josef I. and written by none other than our editor Filip!

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Vše elegantně rozložila na prázdnou postel vedle Švejka, kam přibyla ještě pěkně vázaná kniha „Příběhy ze života našeho mocnáře“, kterou napsal nynější zasloužilý šéfredaktor naší úřední „Československé republiky“, který se ve starém Frantíkovi viděl.

Literature

• Osmdesátiletý mocnář Otakar Filip
• Osmdesátiletý mocnář Jihočeské Listy 14.12.1910
• Nejvyšší ochránce českých dětí Národní Politika 18.8.1915
• Padesátka redaktora O. Filipa Národní Listy 1.7.1924
• K úmrtí red. O. Filipa Národní Listy 11.4.1931
• Československá Republika Jaroslav Šerák
• Co bych radil komunistům, kdybych byl šéfredaktorem vládního orgánu Československá republika Jaroslav Hašek
• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914

	Shrapnel, Henry
*3.6.1761 Bradford-on-Avon - †13.3.1842 Southampton
Wikipedia dadeen Search Švejkův slovník

Shrapnel is mentioned indirectly through the term shrapnel as Baronesse von Botzenheim and her entourage enter the sick-ward of the malingerers at Hradčany. As the novel progresses his name, or rather his invention, crops up several times in various stories from the fighting.

Background

Shrapnel was a British officer and inventor who is famous for having invented the shrapnel shell, a shell filled with metal fragments. It turned out to be an effective anti-personnel weapon. The method was in use from the Napoleonic wars until the end of World War I.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.7] Zejména ne vrchní vojenský lékař Bautze. Byl to muž neúprosný, který ve všem viděl podvodný pokus uniknout vojně, frontě, kulce a šrapnelům.

[I.8] Ani arcikněžna nemohla tak vážně vejít, jako to udělala baronka von Botzenheim. Za ní valil se celý průvod, ve kterém nescházel ani účetní šikovatel při nemocnici, který v tom všem viděl tajemnou ruku revise, která ho od tučného žlabu v týlu hodí napospas šrapnelům někam pod drátěné překážky posic.

[I.8] Na krabici byl obrázek, jak praská šrapnel a nějaký člověk v šišáku se žene s bodákem kupředu.

[I.9] Střílet do nepřítele a zabíjet na druhé straně šrapnely a granáty stejné takové nešťastné suplenty, matematiky, považoval za blbost.

[I.13] Na obzoru hoří vesnice a praskají šrapnely a v popředí leží umírající voják s utrženou nohou, nad kterým se sklání anděl a přináší mu věnec s nápisem na stuze: "Ještě dnes budeš se mnou v ráji." A umírající se blaženě usmívá, jako by mu nesli zmrzlinu.

[I.13] Starý rezervista podíval se na zelenáčka a řekl: "Pěkný doufání, že ti šrapnel utrhne hlavu.

[I.14.2] V tom okamžiku zapomínal, že sviští mu nad hlavou granáty a šrapnely, a probíral se neúnavně se zavazadly ke štábu, kde stálo vozatajstvo.

[II.1] Von si tu hůl přendal do druhý ruky, zařval, že jim to nevodpustí, a bůhví jak by to s ním dopadlo, kdyby ho byl šrapnel za chvilku definitivně nezamordoval.

[II.3] Tady se jedná vo mizerný dvě zlatky, a já bych vás rád viděl, kdybyste měl vobětovat život za svýho vojenskýho představenýho, kdyby von ležel raněnej někde na nepřátelskej linii a vy jste ho měl zachránit a vodnest na svejch rukách a voni by stříleli po vás šrapnely a vším možným." "Vy byste se podělal," bránil se desátník, "vy jedna fajfko."

[II.3] Já ho chytnu za krk a shodím ho z prvního poschodí dolů po schodech, že poletí jako šrapnel.

Literature

• Wer hat das Schrapnell erfunden? Soldatenfreund. Kalender für das Jahr 1917. 1916

	Footman Johann
Search

České slovo, 8.12.1923.

Johann was the servant of Baronesse von Botzenheim and looked like the murderer Babinský.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Ja čist všekno f nófiny, já vám přinest pápat, kousat, kuřit, cucat, cešky fójak, toprá fójak. Johann, kommen Sie her!„ Komorník, připomínající svými ježatými licousy Babinského, přitáhl objemný koš k posteli, zatímco společnice staré baronky, vysoká dáma s uplakanou tváří, sedla si na Švejkovu postel a urovnávala mu slaměný polštář pod záda, s fixní myšlenkou, že se to patří dělat nemocným hrdinům.

	Babinský, Václav
*20.8.1792 Pokratice u Litoměřic - †1.8.1879 Řepy u Prahy
Wikipedia czde Search Švejkův slovník

Babinský is mentioned because footman Johann, the servant of Baronesse von Botzenheim, looked like him.

Background

Babinský was a Czech criminal, sentenced for a series of murders and a number of other crimes. He is one of the best known Czech criminals ever and Egon Erwin Kisch devotes a whole chapter to him in his Die Abenteuer in Prag. A lot of space was devoted to him in the police museum.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Komorník, připomínající svými ježatými licousy Babinského, přitáhl objemný koš k posteli, zatímco společnice staré baronky, vysoká dáma s uplakanou tváří, sedla si na Švejkovu postel a urovnávala mu slaměný polštář pod záda, s fixní myšlenkou, že se to patří dělat nemocným hrdinům.

Literature

• Václav Babinský Miloslav Jedlička
• Václav Babinský, mýty a skutečnost Václav Kupilík
• Babinský, Janeček a jiní graselové Česká televize 3.4.2012

	Kaiser Wilhelm II.
*27.1.1859 Berlin - †4.6.1941 Doorn
Wikipedia czdeennn Search Švejkův slovník

Wilhelm II. is mentioned first time when Baronesse von Botzenheim visits Vojenská nemocnice Hradčany. She gave Švejk a bottle of Kriegslikör where the label depicted Kaiser Franz Joseph I. holding hands with Wilhelm. On the other side of the bottle was written Gott strafe England.

The second mention of the German emperor is equally fleeting. Švejk browses a newspaper and notes that the Sultan has decorated emperor Wilhelm with a war medal whereas he himself so far had not even been awarded a small silver medal.

Wilhelm is mentioned twice thereafter. He was reportedly called an "animal" by the drunk gendarme Wachtmeister Flanderka in Putin, and together with Kaiser Franz Joseph I. he appears on a picture that decorates the wall at k.u.k. Gottes Hauptquartier in Kadett Biegler's pungent dream on the way to Budapest.

Background

Wilhelm II. was emperor of Germany and king of Prussia from 1888 until 1918, member of the house Hohenzollern. Forced to abdicate in 1918 after the defeat in World War I, he lived the rest of his life in the Netherlands. Tsar Nicholas II and the king of England were both his cousins. He was also related to the royal houses of Spain, Norway, Romania and Greece.

Kriegslikör

Der neue Bezirksbote, 23.5.1915.

It has not been possible to verify that bottles of Kriegslikör with labels where Kaiser Franz Joseph I. and Wilhelm hold hands existed, but in any case similar propaganda material abounded. A colour post-card with this theme was actually printed and had the title In Treue fest[1]. The postcard was in circulation in 1916 and perhaps already in 1914.

Gott strafe England was likewise a common slogan from the end of 1914 onwards, so even if the bottle that Švejk was given is not hundred per cent pinpointed, similar items that may have inspired the author were plentiful.

The war medal

Neue Freie Presse, 10.3.1915.

The context of this sequence of the novel strongly indicates that the decoration of Wilhelm that Švejk refers to took place in March 1915. Already on the ninth the official Turkish news agency Agence Milli reported that the Sultan had telegraphed emperor Wilhelm and congratulated him on the great victories in the east. In the same telegramme it is revealed that the emperor was offered the Imtiaz war medal as an expression of the sultan's admiration.

25 March 1915 Milli reported that Goltz Paşa had travelled to Berlin in order to personally decorate the emperor. The war medal was even specially made for Wilhelm.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

In Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí the German emperor is simply classed as brain-damaged.[1]

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Baronka zatím vytahovala dárky z koše. Tucet pečených kuřat, zabalených do růžového hedvábného papíru a ovázaných černožlutou hedvábnou stužkou, dvě láhve nějakého válečného likéru s etiketou „Gott strafe England!“ Na druhé straně byl na etiketě František Josef s Vilémem, jak se drží za ruce, jakoby si chtěli hrát hru „Králíček v své jamce seděl sám, ubožátko, co je ti, že nemůžeš skákati“.

[I.14.3] „Tak vida,“ řekl pro sebe Švejk, sleduje se zájmem přehled denních událostí, „sultán vyznamenal císaře Viléma válečnou medalií, a já nemám dosud ani malou stříbrnou.“

[II.2] ...že je císař pán nemocný dědek a že co nejdřív natáhne brka, že je císař Vilém zvíře, že mu budete do vězení posílat peníze na přilepšenou a ještě víc takových řečí...

[III.1] Uprostřed pokoje, ve kterém po stěnách visely podobizny Františka Josefa a Viléma, následníka trůnu Karla Františka Josefa, generála Viktora Dankla, arcivévody Bedřicha a šéfa generálního štábu Konráda z Hötzendorfu, stál pán bůh.

Also written:Vilém II. cz

Literature

• Türkisches bei Schwejk Hans-Peter Laqueur
• Goltz Pascha in Berlin Neues Wiener Journal 26.3.1915

	Prince Eugen von Savoyen
*18.10.1663 Paris - †24.4.1736 Wien
Wikipedia czdeenfrno Search Švejkův slovník

Eugen is mentioned by a young doctor who attempts a rousing speech to the malingerers and points to prince Eugen and Marschall Radetzky as glorious military role models.

Eugen also appears at the end of [II.2] in the song that Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek and Švejk sing in the cell at Mariánská kasárna (Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter).

Moreover the song is partly quoted in [III.1] when soldiers from the march battalion of the Deutschmeister regiment sing it on their way through Győr. See Zemun.

Background

Eugen was an Austrian prince and field commander. He gets most of the credit for the successful military operations against the Ottomans from the siege of Vienna in 1683 to the peace treaty of Sremski Karlovci in 1699.

The song however refers to an event that took place much later: the siege of Belgrade in 1717. The full name of the French born prince was Eugène-François de Savoie.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.8] Mluvil dlouho o tom, že každý z těch, kteří opouští nemocnici, aby odešli ke svým plukům do pole, musí být vítězem i rytířem. On že jest přesvědčen, že budou zruční ve zbrani, na bojišti i čestní ve všech záležitostech válečných i soukromých. Že budou nepřemožitelnými válečníky, pamětlivými na slávu Radeckého i prince Eugena Savojského.

[I.12] V zápalu a v řečnickém rozmachu vydával polní kurát i prince Evžena Savojského za světce, který je bude chránit, až budou dělat mosty přes řeky.

[II.2] Večer z arestu ozývalo se vždy „Zachovej nám, Hospodine“ a „Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter“.

Sources: Jaroslav Šerák

Also written:Eugene of Savoy en Evžen Savojský cz Eugène de Savoie fr Eugene av Savoia no

Literature

• Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter Jaroslav Šerák
• Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter Wikipedia.com

	Mr. Klíma, Jaroslav
*13.2.1879 Kostelec nad Černými lesy - †5.5 1927 Menton
Search Švejkův slovník

Moravská orlice, 8.5.1927

Rovnost, 13.7.1923

Information from 1906

Klíma is mentioned by the author when he writes about policemen in the Austrian power structure who kept their positions in the new Czechoslovakia.

Background

Klíma was a lawyer and high commissioner in Staatspolizei whose career was very similar to that of Mr. Slavíček. According to Václav Menger he was the policeman who interrogated Jaroslav Hašek after the famous incident at U Valšů in November 1914, where Hašek pretended to be a trader from Russia.

In Czechoslovakia he continued to serve in the police but was like his colleague "exiled" to Slovakia. In 1927 he fell ill with complications from the Spanish flu, was sent abroad for recuperation, but died soon after, at the age of 48. He was succeeded as Bratislava police chief by Mr. Slavíček.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

Klíma also features in the story Kolik kdo má kolem krku[a]. In Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí he also has a more prominent position than in the novel as he personally leads the interrogation of Švejk at c.k. policejní ředitelství.[1]

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.9] Státní policie dodávala také na garnison materiál, pánové Klíma, Slavíček & Comp. Vojenská censura dopravovala sem autory korespondence mezi frontou a těmi, které doma zanechali v zoufalství. Sem vodili četníci i staré výměnkáře, kteří posílali psaní na frontu, a vojenský soud házel jim na krk za jich slova útěchy a líčení bídy domácí po dvanácti letech.

Literature

• Pražské policejní ředitelství, jeho Státní(politická) policie a její informátoři … Zdeněk Kárník, Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, roč. 15, č. 7, 2007
• Za pana Drašnera Jaroslav Šerák
• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914
• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914
• Policejní ředtitel Klíma na zotaveně Národní Politika 30.4.1927
• Policejní ředtitel bratislavský dr. Klíma žermřel Národní Listy 6.5.1927
• Dr. Jaroslav Klíma správcem vinohradské policie Našinec 5.5.1916

	Mr. Slavíček, Karel
*23.1.1874 Vodňany - †21.10.1929 Bratislava
Search Švejkův slovník

Expres,  21.10.1929.

Čechoslovan,  19.2.1917 (ort. kal).

Sebrané spisy Jaroslava Haška, 1925

Slavíček is mentioned when the author informs that Mr. Klíma and Slavíček were still working for the state police in the new Czechoslovak Republic.

Background

Slavíček was a police officer, lawyer and civil servant in Staatspolizei where he was employed from 1900 until 1918. He held a degree in law from Universita Karlova and joined the police when he was 26. His career progressed rapidly within the security police where he also came across Jaroslav Hašek, for instance after the famous episode at U Valšů on 24 November 1914. He was promoted to commissioner in 1909, to high commissioner in 1913 and in 1915 he succeeded Viktor Chum as head of the state police in Prague.

Slavíček was married to Bohumila (born Vaníčková in 1884) and in 1912 the couple had one child, Karel (born in 1905).

Serving Czechoslovakia

Slavíček was investigated by the new Czechoslovak authorities in 1919, but was allowed to continue in the police, albeit in "exile" in Bratislava. Here he played a major part in organising and "demagyarizing" the police in Slovakia. From 1923 he was stationed in Košice. From 1927 he was back in Bratislava as Police Director (head of the police). Two years later he suddenly died from a stroke, at the age of 55.

Changed spelling

In the story Kolik kdo má kolem krku Slavíček and Mr. Klíma arrested Kramář and Klofáč and sent them on to Vienna. The author additionally relates from his own encounter with them during a house search at the end of 1914. When this story appeared in Sebrane spisy in 1925 Slavíček had been renamed Klabíček and Klima became Slíva. But in the original printed in Čechoslovan on 19 February 1917 the author used their real names!

It appears obvious that publisher Adolf Synek or editor Antonín Dolenský didn't want to offend the two policemen who were still alive and held important positions in the police in Slovakia. Perhaps they feared a law-suit? In Spisy Jaroslava Haška from 1973 the rewritten names are still not corrected, so the editors had obviously not read Čechoslovan too closely. A certain commissioner Knotek was renamed Snopek.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

Slavíček is given a more prominent place in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí where he interrogates Švejk in person. The author also dishes out a thinly veiled death threat: he knows that Slavíček and Mr. Klíma live near Riegrové sady and that in this park there are trees with branches strong enough to carry their weight.[1]

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.9] Státní policie dodávala také na garnison materiál, pánové Klíma, Slavíček & Comp. Vojenská censura dopravovala sem autory korespondence mezi frontou a těmi, které doma zanechali v zoufalství. Sem vodili četníci i staré výměnkáře, kteří posílali psaní na frontu, a vojenský soud házel jim na krk za jich slova útěchy a líčení bídy domácí po dvanácti letech.>

Sources: Jaroslav Šerák, Zdeněk Kárník

Literature

• Kolik kdo má kolem krku Jaroslav Hašek, Čechoslovan 19.2.1917
• Za pana Drašnera Jaroslav Šerák
• Pobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelství NAČR 1851 - 1914
• Pražské policejní ředitelství, jeho Státní(politická) policie a její informátoři … Zdeněk Kárník, Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, roč. 15, č. 7, 2007
• Ernennungen im Polizeidienste Prager Abendblatt 4.8.1909
• Ernennungen bei der Prager Polizeidirektion Prager Tagblatt 14.4.1913
• Nový řiditel státní policie v Praze Dělnické listy 20.8.1915
• Policejní ředitel vládní rada Karel Slavíček v Bratislavě zemřel Expres 21.10.1929
• Nekrolog Národní Politika 22.10.1929
• Plötzlicher Tod des Polizeidirektors von Preßburg Neue Freie Presse 23.10.1929
• Zatčení dr. K. Kramáře dne 21. května 1915 Národní Politika 29.12.1935

	Stabsprofus Slavík
Search Švejkův slovník

České slovo,  16.12.1923.

Slavík was a brutal "stabsprofus" (staff guard) at the garrison jail at Hradčany. He was the first who received Švejk in the prison and was also present at the Holy Mess in the jail chapel, served by Feldkurat Katz for the prisoners. Slavík was imprisoned for theft after the war.

Background

Slavík is described as a real person, but it has not been possible to determine who the author had in mind. In 1906 there were two "stabsprofus" at the prison: Jan Frkal and Josef Bureš. Otherwise Slavík is a very common surname, and amongst the many entries in the address books from 1907, 1910 and 1924 there is no obvious candidate.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

The name Slavík appears also in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí, but here assigned to a court medic at c.k. zemský co trestní soud. This medic is easily identifiable from the address book of 1907 as MUDR. Vladimír Slavík, a university professor from Vinohrady.[1]

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.9] Je úplně přirozené, že štábní profous Slavík, když přejímal Švejka, vrhl na něho pohled plný němé výčitky:„I ty máš porouchanou pověst, že jsi se dostal až sem mezi nás? My ti, chlapečku, pobyt zde osladíme, jako všem, kteří upadli v naše ruce, a ty naše ruce nejsou nějaké dámské ručky.“ Aby pak dodal váhy svému pohledu, přiložil svou svalnatou, tlustou pěst Švejkovi pod nos a řekl: „Čichni si, lumpe!“ Švejk si čichl a poznamenal: „S tou bych nechtěl dostat do nosu, to voní hřbitovem.“

	Feldwebel Řepa
Search Švejkův slovník

Řepa was a sergeant at Posádková věznice (the garrison jail) - a torturer with many lives on his conscience. His specialty was breaking the ribs of prisoners by jumping on them. He was also called "the executioner". Feldwebel Řepa returned to his profession as bricklayer after the war and the author suggests that he may even be a member of some patriotic society.

Background

It has not been possible to pin-point any real life individual that might have inspired the author's creation of this character.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.9] A v garnisoně trojice: štábní profous Slavík, hejtman Linhart a šikovatel Řepa, přezdívaný též „kat“, vykonávali již svou úlohu. Kolik jich umlátili v samovazbě!

[I.9] Řepa se vrátil do civilu a vykonává dál své zaměstnání zednického mistra. Může být, že je členem vlasteneckých spolků v republice.

	Hauptmann Linhart
Search Švejkův slovník

Linhart was a captain at Posádková věznice (the garrison prison), but little involved in the plot apart from a less than cordial phone conversation with Auditor Bernis about Švejk's documents.

Background

This is another character without an identifiable real life model. One Karel Linhart served in the police in Smíchov (Jaroslav Hašek lived here in 1910-11) but the connection to the literary figure is difficult to established although it is likely that Hašek knew or knew about him. Linhart was a very common name in Prague and the author may have known about several of them. Another Linhart was active in the Czech indepence movement during World War I. This was a person Hašek would have been aware of and may have borrowed the surname from.

Quote(s) from the novel

[I.9] A v garnisoně trojice: štábní profous Slavík, hejtman Linhart a šikovatel Řepa, přezdívaný též „kat“, vykonávali již svou úlohu. Kolik jich umlátili v samovazbě!

	Feldkurat Katz, Otto
Search Švejkův slovník

A. Sauer a J. Čermák,  1921.

Katz is named 42 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.

Katz was a field chaplain at the garrison in Prague and no doubt one of the most famous characters in the novel. He was of Jewish origin but converted to the Roman-Catholic church. Otto Katz was a notorious drunkard and with questionable moral, but a colourful and intelligent person who the author clearly has some sympathy for.

Katz is the only one of Švejk's superiors who never shouts or swears at him. The field chaplain plays a pivotal role in this ([I.10]) and the next four chapters. He saved Švejk from the garrison prison by taking him on as an officer's servant and the soldier largely enjoyed good times when serving Katz. Together they served field masses, provided the last rites, took part on the same side in a religious debate, and consumed whatever alcohol they could get their hands on. This blissful existence ended miserably in [I.14] where Katz gambled away his servant to obrjlajtnant Oberleutnant Lukáš in a game of cards.

The author provides a number of biographical details on Otto Katz. It is revealed that he had studied at some commercial academy, served in k.u.k. Heer as a one-year volunteer, inherited his father's trading company Katz a spol., and drove it to bankruptcy within a year. His father settled with the creditors behind closed doors and emigrated to North America leaving his son with nothing to inherit.

Thus Otto Katz saw no other option but to enlist in the army as a professional. Before that he had the brilliant idea to convert to the Roman-Catholic church, and was baptised by páter Alban (páter Albán) in Emauzský klášter. His entry exam as an officer was successful, so he continued in the army and even planned to enlist in a staff course.

But one sunny day he got drunk and exchanged the sword with the cassock. He studied for priest at the Archbishop's seminary (see Seminář) and was ordained. After completing his studies and being ordained, he turned back to the amrmy. At his old regiment he obtained the rank that eventually made him famous.

As a field chaplain he worked in Prague and lived in Královská třída in Karlín. It is not known at which unit he served as the author merely informs that he was assigned to one regiment. He bought a horse, lived a debaucherous life with card games, drink and prostitutes, often on borrowed money that he never intended to pay back. Amongst the officers in his regiment he was known as "Holy Father".

Otto Katz disappears from the story after the disastrous gambling event, but is mentioned by the author in the epilogue to Part One. Here it is revealed that he had lived through the war unhurt, had left the church after the war, and had become a "prokurista" (agent) at a paint factory in North Bohemia. He wrote the author an angry and threatening letter after having read about himself in the translation of one of the chapters in a certain German newspaper. The two still met, were reconciled, and it turned out that his drinking habits of the former field chaplain hadn't changed one bit.

During the remainder of the novel his name reappears a few times, but now in the stories that Švejk entertains his fellow soldiers with.

Background

Any obvious model fro Otto Katz has so far been impossible to pinpoint. At least four persons with this name lived in Prague in 1910 and are possible inspirations, but notably in his role as namesake, Jew and trader, but not as a field chaplain. At least three of them ran their own companies during Hašek's lifetime and were also Jews, so we are going to limit the investigation to these.

To find a prototype for Katz has on the other hand been futile. Not a single person with the surname Katz is listed as a cleric in k.u.k. Heer in 1914, so if any real field chaplain has inspired the author he must have carried a very different name.[a]

Augustin Knesl's research

Augustin Knesl, Večerní Praha,  1983.

In the series Josef Švejk a ti druzí, published in Večerní Praha in 1983, Augustin Knesl identifies an Otto Katz who he claims was the inspiration for Hašek's Katz. This person was born in 1864 in Prague, son of Leopold. He studied at the Obchodní akademie and Knesl provides many details about his years at the academy, including his marks who his teachers were.

Then the years after Otto Katz graduated in 1881 and until 1920 are left blank apart from the "literary facts" that Knesl without reservations borrows from the novel. His next step are some adverts for a firm in Celetná ulice 14, Staré město. These were printed in České slovo in 1920 and 1921. Knesl also notes that the firm appeared to have closed down in January 1923. Combining this with the information from the novel, he concludes that Katz went bankrupt twice. He has obviously not considered that there could have been more than one firm named Otto Katz in Prague.

Rapeseed oil in Libeň

Adresář Praha,  1910.

The house where Otto was born

Recent investigations in newspapers and police records reveal that a certain Otto Katz was the co-owner of a company that manufactured oil from vegetables. This enterprise was located in Královská třída in Libeň and operated from 1893 until at least 1899. By 1902 the company was not listed anymore but Otto Katz still owned the premises. A curious link to the novel is the street where the firm was located. The literary field chaplain and the real life factory owner both lived in Královská třída, albeit at opposite ends.

It can now be concluded that the oil manufacturer in Libeň (in some documents named Otta) was indeed identical to the man Knesl mentioned[b]. He was born 6 December 1864 in Prague, of Jewish confession, son of Leopold and Matylda. He married Marie Moravetz in 1894, which rules out that he ever was a Catholic priest.

On 1 March 1893 he and Josef Gross from Karlín registered the company Grossmann a Katz, manufacturer of rapeseed oil. In 1896 Otto Katz is listed as the sole proprietor and in 1899 an advert confirms the existence of the firm. The advert is however not for oil, but for some furniture, so it might have been a closing down sale. In 1902 Otto Katz is listed as the owner of the same property (Královská třída 358) but there is no mention of any firm or factory anymore. This year he lives in Podskalská ul. in Praha II., indeed very close to the Obchodní akademie where Jaroslav Hašek studied from 1899 to 1902.

In the 1910 address book he is listed again, now as "disponent" and house owner. He is also chairman of the Association of Czech rapeseed oil producers. His address is now Hybernská 40 and he had lived here at least since 1905. In 1915 Katz was still married, and still recorded with "Israelite confession", so as opposed to his literary counterpart he never converted. As late as 1932 he still owned the property in Libeň. Katz died on 16 June 1935 and his wife Marie was in 1942 deported by the Nazis and murdered in Treblinka (Jaroslav Šerák).

Leopold Katz

According to the novel Katz's father was the owner of a trading company. The real Leopold Katz, born in Poděbrady in 1831, died 22 April 1909, indeed ran his own firm, but traded in leather. He passed away in Prague so it is unlikely that he ever emigrated to North America. Nor is there any trace of any Leopold Katz from Prague in the passenger lists for New York arrivals. Moreover we have seen no evidence that his son Otto ever inherited the company or that it went broke. When Otto Katz was born the family lived at Pořící (Praha II., č.p.1071).

Sewing and embroidery

The address book from 1910 lists another Otto Katz who ran his own company. By comparing police records and address books we know that one Otto Katz from Sedlec lived in Ferdinandova tř. 25 in 1910, and ran a sewing and embroidery enterprise. He was married to Božena who converted to Jewish confession when they married. In 1913 he is registered in Staré město No. 387 (Provaznická 2). His name appears here as late as 1916.

A flood of adverts

Budweiser Zeitung,  7.2.1919.

Národní politika, 27.2.1921.

The third firm was a weaver and linen manufacturer in Celetná ulice 14 and is no doubt the firm that Knesl refers to in regards to the adverts in 1920. It existed at least from January 1918 when it advertised aprons in Lidové noviny, and may have operated already in 1916, but in Josefovská ulice in Josefov (this address also appears in adverts from 1918).

From 1918 the firm often advertised in the newspapers, particularly in 1920 and 1921, including during spring and summer 1921 when the author introduced Otto Katz for his readers. Jaroslav Hašek may well have noticed these as he eagerly read newspapers, including the adverts. Otto Katz advertised in regional and national newspapers, and even abroad. They were also seen in German-language newspapers like Budweiser Zeitung and Dorfsbote, and in Slovenia's Maribor Zeitung. Prager Tagblatt reported on 28 November 1922 that a fire damaged the store on the 2nd floor and in a note in Lidové noviny 25 January 1923 it is revealed that the firm had gone broke, information that fits well with Knesl's version. In 1924 the firms property was auctioned off.

Prager Presse, 13.6.1924.

The identity of this Otto Katz is somewhat unclear. At first glance he seems to have been born in 1870 in Sedlec (link B). He specialised in embroidery, also on an industrial scale, but the information from the address book entry from 1924 shows him and the factory owner in Celetná ul. as different people (it might be an error in the address book). Several others named Otto Katz lived in Prague, some of them potential factory owners by 1918. One of them was born in 1886 and is listed as obchodník (trader) in 1915 and lived in Praha I./čp. 920.

Fraudster in uniform

Národní listy,  7.4.1915.

In April 1915 newspapers reported on a certain Otto Katz from Plzeň who defrauded a number of hotels while dressed in the uniform of a Fähnrich. That Jaroslav Hašek read the story is quite likely as he was marod (ill) in Budějovice at the time (and he was an avid newspaper reader). We also know that snippets from newspaper from this period appear elsewhere in the novel. The story may thus have lent drops of inspiration to Otto Katz (negligence of financial duties and visit to brothels), but this is mere speculation.

"Field chaplain" Mojžíš

A most unlikely model for Katz

In Jaroslav Hašek und sein „braver Soldat“ Schwejk, (2011) Jan Berwid-Buquoy claims that the model of Katz was Lev Mojžíš, "a cleric from Břevnov and notorious drunkard". His servant in Prague towards the end of the war was allegedly Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj, one of Jaroslav Hašek's closest friends.