Jaroslav Hašek – Czech satirist of the early 20th century; author of The Good Soldier Švejk and numerous feuilletons; iconic figure of anti-war literature. Served in WWI, joined the Russian Legion, later lived in the USSR. His humour blends absurdity and social satire; Švejk became a cultural archetype across Europe.
📜 Worked as a journalist and wrote hundreds of satirical short stories before Švejk. 🪖 Captured in WWI, he joined the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia. 📚 Planned Švejk as a vast epic but managed only four volumes. 🍺 Famous for his love of beer, which permeates his depictions of Prague pubs. 🗞️ Founded humour magazines that censorship repeatedly shut down. 🌍 His works are translated into 50+ languages; politicians even quoted Švejk. 🎭 The character inspired plays, films, comics, and even Kurt Weill’s opera. 🖋️ Used over 120 pseudonyms in his journalistic career. 📖 Blended vernacular speech, grotesque humour, and bureaucratic documents in style. 🇨🇿 In Czech, “švejking” came to mean sly passive resistance. 🛑 Spent periods in poverty, sometimes writing literally under the kitchen table. 📌 Couldn’t finish Švejk due to illness; Karel Vaněk continued the novel. 🧐 Curious: signed articles under fictitious “experts” to mock academic authority. 😄 Funny: enjoyed creating imaginary “societies” whose members were cats, dogs, and drinking friends.