Thoughts on war: Czech journalist and writer Julius Fučík on “nameless heroes” (Published on 02/12/2025)
Julius Fučík was born in Prague on 23/02/1903. He began studying in Prague in 1920 and joined the Social Democratic Workers’ Party. He belonged to the left wing of the party, which founded the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KPČ) in 1921. Fučík was responsible for cultural work there and began writing for various magazines, including the party newspaper “Rudé právo” (“Red Law”). After the activities of the KPČ were largely banned by the Czech government in September 1938, he wrote under a pseudonym. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Julius Fučík became involved in the Czechoslovak resistance, and from the spring of 1941 he was a member of the Central Committee of the KPČ. He produced leaflets, attempted to publish “Rudé právo” regularly, and published the popular weekly newspaper “Tvorba”.
About “nameless heroes” he wrote the following (Source: Bähr, Die Stimme des Menschen – Briefe und Aufzeichnungen aus der ganzen Welt 1939 – 1945 [“Man’s Voice – Letters and Notes from Around the World, 1939 – 1945”] (1961), p. 325 f. [translation from German language]):
“One day, today will be the past, and people will talk about the great times and the nameless heroes who made history. I want people to know that there were no nameless heroes, that these were people who had names, faces, desires, and hopes, and that therefore the pain of even the last among them was no less than the pain of the first, whose name has been preserved. I want them all to remain close to you, like acquaintances, like relatives, like yourselves.
Yes, I want us to remember those who fought loyally and steadfastly, both abroad and here at home, and who fell in battle. But I also want the living to be remembered, those who helped us no less faithfully and no less steadfastly under the most difficult conditions. Not for their glory. But as an example to others. For the duty of humanity does not end with this struggle, and being human will continue to require a heroic heart as long as humans are not fully human.”
On 24/04/1943, Julius Fučík was arrested in Prague and subsequently tortured before being deported to Germany in May 1943. There, he was tried for high treason before the “People’s Court”, presided over by Roland Freisler, and sentenced to death. He was executed on 08/09/1943 in Plötzensee Prison.
(Head picture: Path between horse pastures near Düsseldorf,
October 2018)
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