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Person · First World War · Czechs in Ukraine · N0047

Jaroslav Hašek

Ярослав Гашек · 1883–1923

Essence

The Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek (1883–1923), author of The Good Soldier Švejk, was captured by the Russians at Chorupany near Dubno in Volhynia on 24 September 1915, joined the Czechoslovak units and lived and worked in Kyiv from 1916 to 1918. According to Kyiv journalism he collaborated there with the Czech weekly Čechoslovan, and Czech Wikipedia notes that Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí was published in 1917 by the Slovanské nakladatelství in Kyiv. A memorial plaque hangs on the building of the former Hotel Praha (Volodymyrska 36) in Kyiv. The details of the Kyiv period (addresses, imprisonment) are reported unevenly by the sources.

Timeline

  1. 30.4.1883Born in Prague. [HAS01]
  2. 24.9.1915Captured by the Russians in the battle of Chorupany, about 12 km north-west of Dubno (now Ukraine). [HAS01]
  3. 1915–1916Until summer 1916 held in the Totskoye camp, where he joined the Czechoslovak legion. [HAS01]
  4. 1916–1918According to Kyiv journalism he lived and worked in Kyiv, staying at the Hotel Praha at Volodymyrska 36. [HAS02]
  5. July 1916First feuilleton in the weekly Čechoslovan (in the first half of July according to the article). [HAS02]
  6. 1917Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí was published by the Slovanské nakladatelství in Kyiv. [HAS01]
  7. November 1917 – February 1918Published in the magazines Čechoslovan and Čs. voják. [HAS01]
  8. 1918Left the legion's planned route to Vladivostok, went to Moscow and in April moved to the Red Army. [HAS01]
  9. 3.1.1923Died in Lipnice nad Sázavou. [HAS01]

Full research text

Significance

Jaroslav Hašek (1883–1923) was a Czech writer and humorist, author of The Good Soldier Švejk. His war years are tied to Ukraine: captivity in Volhynia in 1915, the Czechoslovak units and about two years in Kyiv, where he wrote for the Czech press and published part of Švejk. [HAS01; HAS02]

Life

Hašek was born on 30 April 1883 in Prague and died on 3 January 1923 in Lipnice nad Sázavou. [HAS01] In 1915 he was drafted into the 91st infantry regiment and sent to the Galician front. [HAS01] In 1918 he left the legion's route to Vladivostok, went to Moscow and in April moved to the Red Army; he was then in Samara and later deputy military commander of Bugulma. In December 1920 he returned to Prague (19 December). [HAS01]

Ukrainian connection

Captivity. On 24 September 1915 Hašek was captured in the battle of Chorupany, about 12 km north-west of Dubno, now in Ukraine; until summer 1916 he was in the camp at Totskoye, where he joined the Czechoslovak legion. [HAS01] He served as a clerk, recruiter, rifleman and in a machine-gun unit, with which he took part in the battle of Zborov. [HAS01]

Kyiv. According to Viktoriia Sorokopud's journalism, Hašek lived and worked in Kyiv in 1916–1918; he first stayed at the Hotel Praha at Volodymyrska 36, where a white marble memorial plaque with a relief of the writer now hangs. [HAS02; HAS03] He collaborated with the Czech weekly Čechoslovan, which according to the article was renewed in March 1916; Hašek's first feuilleton appeared in the first half of July 1916, and political articles appeared under pseudonyms. [HAS02] According to Czech Wikipedia he published in Čechoslovan and Čs. voják from November 1917 to February 1918, and in 1917 Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí was published by the Slovanské nakladatelství in Kyiv. [HAS01]

Discrepancies in sources

Kyiv addresses and details: Sorokopud writes that the Hotel Praha later had several names and herself marks the sequence as unclear; reports of imprisonment in Boryspil and of part of Švejk being written in a Kyiv hotel she presents as rumours or researchers' hypotheses, unconfirmed. [HAS02]

Chronology: Czech Wikipedia gives no exact dates for the Kyiv period and does not mention the Darnytsia camp; Sorokopud writes of 1916–1918 without exact dates of arrival and departure. The date of the second part of Švejk appearing in Kyiv in summer 1917 (per Sorokopud) does not match the general “1917” of the Czech article. Full texts and archives of the Kyiv Czech press were not checked. [HAS01; HAS02]

Further reading about this person

A book about this person has not yet been confirmed. Research in library catalogues continues.

Sources

  1. HAS01 Czech Wikipedia, article “Jaroslav Hašek”: dates (30 April 1883 Prague – 3 January 1923 Lipnice nad Sázavou), the front in 1915, capture on 24 September 1915 at Chorupany near Dubno, the camp at Totskoye, the Czechoslovak legion, the battle of Zborov, publications in Čechoslovan and Čs. voják (November 1917 – February 1918), Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí (1917, Kyiv), Moscow and Samara in 1918, return in 1920. Only the beginning of the article was read (about 100,000 of ~124,000 characters). cs.wikipedia.org
  2. HAS02 Viktoriia Sorokopud, “Kyiv Švejkiana of Jaroslav Hašek”, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, 3 October 2003: Hašek lived and worked in Kyiv in 1916–1918, the Hotel Praha at Volodymyrska 36, the weekly Čechoslovan, the first feuilleton in July 1916, a memorial plaque; the author calls some of the details rumours. zn.ua
  3. HAS03 Wikimedia Commons, file “Hasek in Kiev.jpg” and the description of “МД Ярослав Гашек Київ 2011 01.JPG”: photograph of the memorial plaque on the Hotel Praha building (Kyiv), where Hašek lived in 1916–1918. commons.wikimedia.org

Photos and videos

Jaroslav Hašek, photograph by Václav Donát, 1904–1908.
Jaroslav Hašek, photograph by Václav Donát, 1904–1908.Credit: Václav Donát · Licence: Public domain · Source
Memorial plaque to Jaroslav Hašek on the former Hotel Praha in Kyiv (photo of 2012).
Memorial plaque to Jaroslav Hašek on the former Hotel Praha in Kyiv (photo of 2012).Credit: Avemundi · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Verification

Draft

Research draft with sources; independent check still pending.

How we verify: all steps

Evidence coverage

Timeline claims assessed: 0 / 9. Claims with verified contradictions: 0.

The score measures coverage of timeline claims by verified sources, not the probability of historical truth. One independent source gives a claim 0.5 points; two or more give 1 point. A disputed claim receives 0. Unassessed claims remain in the denominator.

evidence-v1

How the score is calculated

Each claim shows its contribution to the score and verified current sources. Multiple references may share an origin; context adds no points.

  1. 30.4.1883

    Born in Prague.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  2. 24.9.1915

    Captured by the Russians in the battle of Chorupany, about 12 km north-west of Dubno (now Ukraine).

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  3. 1915–1916

    Until summer 1916 held in the Totskoye camp, where he joined the Czechoslovak legion.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  4. 1916–1918

    According to Kyiv journalism he lived and worked in Kyiv, staying at the Hotel Praha at Volodymyrska 36.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  5. July 1916

    First feuilleton in the weekly Čechoslovan (in the first half of July according to the article).

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  6. 1917

    Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí was published by the Slovanské nakladatelství in Kyiv.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  7. November 1917 – February 1918

    Published in the magazines Čechoslovan and Čs. voják.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  8. 1918

    Left the legion's planned route to Vladivostok, went to Moscow and in April moved to the Red Army.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim

  9. 3.1.1923

    Died in Lipnice nad Sázavou.

    Not yet assessed Contribution: 0.0 / 1Independent source origins: 0

    Verified current support has not been established. This does not mean the claim is false.

    Report this claim
How we verify
  • DraftResearch draft with sources; independent check still pending.
  • Checked automaticallyQuotes mechanically matched to sources; an independent model found no contradictions.
  • Two sources (automatic score)Automatic evidence score: key facts rest on at least two independent sources. No person has yet read the whole dossier.
  • Confirmed by an editorAn editor confirmed the dossier; the reason is shown on the page. This is not an independent scholarly review.
  • Disputed pointsSources disagree; disputed points are marked in the text.

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