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The Good Soldier Švejk

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Jan Vaněk was arguably the most obvious of all the prototypes of characters in The Good Soldier Švejk.

The Who's who page on Jaroslav Hašek presents a gallery of persons from real life who to a varying degree are associated with The Good Soldier Švejk and his creator. Several of the characters in the novel are known to be based on real-life people, mostly officers from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. Some of Hašek's literary figures carry the full names of their model, some are only thinly disguised and some names diverge from that of their "model", but they can be pinpointed by analyzing the circumstances in which they appear.

A handful of "prototypes" are easily recognisable like Rudolf Lukas and Jan Vaněk, others like Zdeněk Matěj Kuděj and Emanuél Michálek are less obvious inspirations. One would also assume that most of these characters borrow traits from more than one person, one such example is Švejk himself.

A far larger number of assumed prototypes are connected to their literary counterparts by little more than the name. Josef Švejk is here the prime example, but Jan Eybl also fits in this category. The list of prototypes only contains those who inspired characters that directly take part in the plot.

Researchers, the so-called Haškologists, are also included on this page but this list is per 15 June 2022 restricted to Radko Pytlík and two important but relatively unknown contributors to our knowledge about Hašek and Švejk. In due course entries on other experts like Václav Menger and Zdena Ančík will be added.


Michálek, Emanuél
*21.10.1885 Plzeň - †?
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Michálek is frequently suggested as a possible model for Leutnant Dub, but the facts that support this theory are few. The personal traits of the abject reserve lieutenant seem to be a mosaic of the worst from several people, rather than being picked from one particular person. Still there are some indications that Michálek to a degree served as inspiration for the author's caricature of a Czech monarchist.

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Michálek complaining at the slighest physical "Anstrengung", he was close to "Superarbitrierung"

Michálek joined Infanterieregiment Nr. 91's operative body with the 13th march battalion on 15 August 1915. He was captured by Chorupan on 24 September, a fate he shared with Jaroslav Hašek. According to Jan Morávek the two had a serious clash earlier in September, when Hašek stood up for his friend Jan Vaněk who was threatened by Michálek. During the incident the lieutenant is reported to have used the well-known phrase of Leutnant Dub: You know me perhaps from the good side, but wait until you get to know me from the bad side.

This is however the only known connection between Leutnant Dub and Michálek, apart from their identical ranks and they both belonging to IR. 91. Hašek and Michálek travelled to the front in different march battalions, but may possibly have met each other in Királyhida in June. Another interesting parallel goes back to their youth: they both studied at The Czecho-Slavonic Commercial Academy in Prague. With Michálek being only two years younger than Hašek they may even have met.

But in large Leutnant Dub's and Michálek’s biographical details differ. Michálek was a bank official whereas Dub was a schoolmaster. Michálek lived in Vinohrady whereas Dub resided in Smíchov (at times Jaroslav Hašek has him hail from some country town). Michálek had battle experience from Serbia and the Carpathians, whereas in the novel there is no mention of Dub ever having been at the front. Michálek was married and had two children, another detail that goes unmentioned in the novel (it is even suggested that Dub was a homosexual).

For the records: Michálek joined the Legions in the summer of 1918, at a time when Jaroslav Hašek had already left. After the war he was enrolled as a reserve officer in the Czechoslovak Army, where he served until 1935. It is not known where and when Michálek passed away.

Other candidates
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Cecil Parrott: A study of Švejk and the short stories, page 132

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František Trávníček

With such vague links between the prototype and the infamous literary figure, several alternative real-life models have been suggested. Radko Pytlík (1998) is of the opinion that no particular model exists, but mentions a few alternatives, apart from Michálek. He notes that Jaroslav Hašek is reported to have told teacher Jakl at Lipnice that the model for Leutnant Dub was some Senior Lieutenant Kreibich and researchers in Brno have come up with the theory that Dub’s model was linguistician František Trávníček. Pytlík (2003) characterizes the rumours about Trávníček as “malicious”. Cecil Parrott (1982) writes: “Finally, it has long been whispered that the model of Dub was in fact the famous linguistician František Trávníček”, but no one dared to state it because he held a place of honour in the Communist republic until his death in 1961”.

The Kreibich and Trávníček connections both rest on an even less solid foundation than the Michálek theory. There was no officer called Kreibich in IR. 91. Interestingly a Kreibich is mentioned in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí, but here he is assigned the role of servant of Fähnrich Dauerling and has little that fits the description of Lt. Dub. It should also be noted that Vladimír Stejskal, the source of this reference was later exposed as a hoaxer.

The Trávníček hypothesis originates from Brno (Radko Pytlík 1998) but it is not known who is behind the rumour. Records in Vienna’s Kriegsarchiv, Reserveoffizierschule Budweis 1915, do indeed reveal that a František Trávníček attended the school at the same time as Hašek, and at first sight adds some weight to the theory about Leutnant Dub being modelled on the famous linguist. But a quick comparison of data puts the theory firmly to rest. There were many persons carrying this name in the armed forces, and ten of them later served in the Czechoslovak Army in Russia. Records from VÚA shows that the Moravian linguist served in IR8, and he only joined the Legions on 18 January 1918, i.e. shortly before Jaroslav Hašek left it. Although Trávníček may have shared some characteristics with Dub, it is very unlikely that Hašek ever had anything to do with him. Trávníček should therefore be considered "not guilty".

Karel Dub's research
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Johann Hutzler

The most solid research on Leutnant Dub has not been done by a renowned Hašek-expert, but by Karel Dub. He did a remarkably detailed investigation into the background of his namesake. Significantly he found that no-one with the name Dub served in IR. 91 at the short time Jaroslav Hašek was there, contrary to what others (Jan Eybl) have claimed. In several interviews in his old age Eybl mentions a regimental doctor named Robert Dub who he claims served in the regiment at the same time as Hašek. Robert Dub was in fact regimental doctor from 5 Oktober 1915, and we have a picture of him together with Franz Wenzel from 1 November 1915. The mystery is that he joined IR. 91 after Hašek had been captured, so it is tempting to dismiss Eybl's version as fiction. On the other hand there is no doubt that Eybl knew Dub well, he mentions him many times in his diary.

Karel Dub suggests that Hašek borrowed the name Leutnant Dub from people he knew from before the war or during his time in Russia (there were eight Dubs in the Čechoslovak Army). He also methodically goes through the lists of reserve-lieutenants that served with Hašek and comes up with vital information. He mentions Michálek, but also discusses other persons that may have inspired Hašek: Richard Müller, Ferdinand Black, and Johann Hutzler. Black, who was twenty at the time, was too young to fit the schoolmaster role but may still have lent other traits to Dub. Müller is as good as ruled out, but Hutzler has a few striking similarities with Dub.

Hutzler was of the right age (born in 1880), he was a teacher, and had not served at the front before. He was not married, and suffered from sciatica. He was of minuscule stature (156 cm tall), arrived at the front in Hašek’s march battalion, and seems to fit the author's description of Leutnant Dub well. He was squad leader in Hašek's 11. Feldkompanie but was quickly replaced by the much younger Black, presumably for not being up to the task. Otherwise Karel Dub provides an impressive array of facts, and concludes that Johann Hutzler rather than Michálek appears to be the main prototype for Dub.

An entry in Verlustliste from April further underpins Karel Dub's conclusion. In March 1915 Hutzler was hospitalised in k.u.k. Reserve-Spital in Budějovice, at exactly the same time as Jaroslav Hašek. It is therefore very likely that they would have known each other already from then on, and that time-wise both men's career in k.u.k. Heer overlapped almost entirely.

Sources: Karel Dub, Morávek, Radko Pytlík, Cecil Parrott

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