Karel Čapek

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Karel Čapek (around 1936)
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Karel Čapek [ ˈtʃapɛk ] (born January 9, 1890 in Malé Svatoňovice , † December 25, 1938 in Prague ) was a Czech writer, translator, journalist and photographer. He is considered one of the most important authors of Czech literature in the 20th century. The international word robot goes back to his play RUR .

Life

Karel Čapek was the son of the country doctor Antonín Čapek. He attended high schools in Königgrätz , Brno and Prague. From 1909 to 1915 he studied at the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague , in between at Berlin University and together with his brother, the painter Josef Čapek , in France. The Čapek brothers quickly became part of the vibrant cultural life of Paris. Karel Čapek's writings were provocative and he dressed eccentrically. For health reasons he was not drafted during the First World War . In 1915 he was promoted to Dr. phil. PhD. Čapek first worked in the academy library as a librarian and in 1916/17 as an educator with Count Prokop Lažanský at Chyše Castle .

From 1917 Čapek worked as a journalist, first with the Národní listy until 1920 , after which he was editor of Lidové noviny . In addition, he was a dramaturge and director at the Prague Theater in the Vineyards from 1921 to 1923 . He is considered to be the main initiator of the Pátečníci regulars' table , which from 1925 mostly met in his apartment. From 1925 to 1933 he was a member of the Czechoslovak PEN Club . In 1923 he toured Italy, 1924 England, 1929 Spain, 1931 Holland, 1936 Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

With Olga Scheinpflugová in Norway, photo by Karel Čapek
Čapek's last place of residence on Strž

On August 26, 1935, Čapek married the actress and writer Olga Scheinpflugová (1902–1968), a daughter of the writer and journalist Karel Scheinpflug . As a wedding present, the couple received from the general director of the Dobříš metallurgical works, Václav Palivec , a villa by the Strž pond near Stará Huť for lifelong use. The villa became Čapek's last main residence. While repairing flood damage on the Strž, Čapek contracted pneumonia , from which he died. On December 29, 1938 he was buried in the Vyšehrad cemetery .

Writing work

Karel Čapek devoted himself to a wide range of work: realism , drama and utopian literature. His work is considered a masterful example of the Czech language . In terms of content, there is a clear ability to observe human society and often a satirical, accurate humor. Karel Čapek is internationally known today for his works, which are classified as science fiction . He is close to writers such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell .

Many of Karel Čapek's works deal with ethical aspects of new developments, as they were foreseeable in the first half of the 20th century. Examples are industrial mass production , weapons of mass destruction or the encounter with other intelligences (robots in RUR , amphibians in The War with the Newts ). The novel Das Absolutum or the Gottesfabrik paints a pessimistic picture of how people deal with undreamt-of possibilities. During the splitting of the atom, the “absolute” is set free, the essence of the divine. Its availability theoretically gives mankind access to utopia , but power thinking and selfishness lead to sectarianism and missionary movements and ultimately to a senseless, worldwide war. Krakatit (1924) is even darker with his obsessive, Dostoevsky-like hero who unleashes the destructive potential of nuclear power.

In his works Karel Čapek warns of coming disasters. In addition, he foresees the power of dictatorships, denounces the overwhelming power of industrial groups and generally calls for a place for the individual. Ray Bradbury , Salman Rushdie and Brian Aldiss as well as Dan Simmons can be counted among the literary heirs of Karel Čapek.

Karel Čapek has also written detective stories , novels , fairy tales and plays ; he also wrote a book on horticulture. A recurring theme is the question “What is knowledge”, which is highlighted in particular in Das Absolutum or Die Gottesfabrik and in the novel trilogy consisting of Hordubal , A Meteor and An Ordinary Life .

Political opinions

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Karel Čapek
RUR production (around 1935)

In the 1930s, Karel Čapek used his literary talent to warn of the threats posed by National Socialism and fascism . He also kept his distance from communism . His most productive creative period was during the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938), with whose first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , he was a close friend. This relationship between writer and politician inspired Václav Havel .

In the drama The White Disease , he shows the dangers of totalitarian regimes and their war intentions. The “Marshal”, referring to Hitler, is quoted there: “Such a small nation has no right to life”.

The Gestapo counted Čapek (after President Masaryk) as "Public Enemy Number 2", his brother Josef Čapek , painter and writer, was one of the first to be arrested in 1939, suffered the concentration camps in Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen until he finally died in April 1945 in the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen of typhus died.

The communist regime of Czechoslovakia after 1948 found it difficult to recognize Karel Čapek, as he was never convinced of the superiority of a dictatorship of the proletariat over other forms of society. Nevertheless, the regime did not dare to sideline the world-famous successful author and anti-fascist. From 1954 onwards, Čapek's works appeared in several editions in Czechoslovakia and were also translated by Aufbau-Verlag in the GDR and in other Eastern Bloc countries.

Aftermath

In the drama RUR, the term robot (Czech robot ) appears for the first time , which is used in numerous languages ​​today. The word was coined by Josef Čapek , who derived it from the West Slavic Robota ( fronarbeit or originally work in general).

The asteroid (1931) Čapek bears his name. In his last residence near Stará Huť there has been a memorial since 1963, and a museum in his birthplace.

The Karel Čapek Prize has been awarded since 1994 .

Works

prose

  • Zářivé hlubiny , 1916
  • Boží muka , Novellen 1917 (German Gottesmarter (first part), Berlin: S. Fischer, 1918 and Kreuzwege (second part), Leipzig: Kurt Wolff, 1919, translation: Otto Pick )
  • Krakonošova zahrada , 1918
  • Kritika slov , 1918
  • Překřtění ulic , Prague 1918
  • Trapné povídky , 1921
  • Továrna na absolutno , Roman 1922 (German: The Absolutum or the God's Factory, 1924, also: The Factory of the Absolute)
  • Krakatit , Roman 1922 (German 1949)
  • O nejbližších věcech , 1925
  • Skandální aféra Josefa Holouška , 1927
  • Povídky z druhé kapsy , 1929 ( Eng . From one pocket to the other, 1936)
  • Zahradníkův rok , 1929 (The year of the gardener, 1932)
  • Marsyas čili na okraj literature , 1931
  • Apokryfy , 1932 (German. As in the old days. The Book of Apocrypha, 1958)
  • O věcech obecných čili Zoon politikon , 1932
  • Hordubal , Roman 1933 (German Hordubal, 1933)
  • Povětroň , Novel 1934 (German The Meteor, 1980)
  • Obyčejný život , Roman 1934 (German: An Ordinary Life, 1980)
  • Válka s mloky , Roman 1936 ( Eng . The war with the newts , 1937); Dramatization: Pavel Kohout , 1963
  • První parta , Roman 1937 (German The First Column, 1938)
  • Život a dílo skladatele Foltýna , novel 1939 (German life and work of the composer Foltýn, 1954)

Dramas

  • Lásky hra osudná , 1910
  • Loupežník , Comedy 1920; (Eng. The Robber, 1934); Filming 1931
  • RUR (Rossumovi Universální Roboti) 1920 (German translation by Otto Pick under the title WUR, 1922)
  • Ze života hmyzu , 1921 (From the life of insects)
  • Věc Makropulos , 1922 (German The Makropulos Case, 1927); Setting by Leoš Janáček : The Makropulos Case Opera 1926; Filming: Czechoslovakia 1958 (TV)
  • Adam stvořitel , 1927 (German Adam the Creator, 1967)
  • Bílá nemoc , 1937 ( Eng . The white disease, 1937); Filming: Czechoslovakia 1937 (Director: Hugo Haas )
  • Matka , 1938 (German mother, 1957)

Travel reports

  • Italské listy , 1923 (German What I liked and didn't like in Italy, 1961)
  • Anglické listy , 1924 (Strange England, 1936)
  • Výlet do Španěl , 1930 (German excursion to Spain, 1961)
  • Obrázky z Holandska , 1932 (German Lovable Holland, 1957)
  • Cesta na sever , 1936 (Eng. The Journey to the North, 1938)
  • Obrázky z domova (German pictures from home, 1955)

Children's books

Illustrations by the author of Dášeňka
  • Devatero pohádek a ještě jedna od Josefa Čapka jako přívažek , 1932 (German doctors, cats, swallows and sparrows, 1933)
  • Dášeňka čili život štěněte , 1933 (German Daschenka. The life of a young dog, 1934)

Philosophical and political works

  • Pragmatism čili Filosofie Practického života , 1918
  • Hovory s TG Masarykem also Hovory s TGM , three volumes, 1928–1935 (German among others: Masaryk tells his life. Conversations with Karel Čapek , Gutenberg Book Guild , Zurich 1934)
  • Mlčení s TG Masarykem , 1935 (German Schweigen mit TG Masaryk , the fourth volume of the original trilogy, a subsequent sequel to Hovory s TG Masarykem ).

Translations

  • Francouzská poezie nové doby , 1920

German editions

  • Gottesmarter , 1918; Way of the Cross , 1919; (Original title: Boží muka )
  • Brother hyacinth. The mirror in the bar. 2 Prague Stories, 1927
  • Hikers in spring , on the 50th birthday of Fráňa Šrámek , translated by Otto Pick, introduced by Karel Čapek, Khol, Praha 1927.
  • Mail, Police, Dogs and Robbery, 1932
  • How a play is created (original title: Jak vzniká divadelní hra , translated by Otto Pick and Vincy Schwarz, illustrated by Josef Čapek), Cassirer, Berlin 1933; Unionsverlag, Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-293-00443-6 .
  • Daschenka or The Life of a Young Dog, 1934; New edition (last): Revised translation from the Czech by Otto Pick and Vincy Schwarz, Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-462-02205-9 (= KiWi 288).
  • Conversations with Masaryk (original title: Hovory s TG Masarykem , translated by Eckhard Thiele and Camill Hoffmann ), DVA, Stuttgart / Munich 2001, ISBN 978-3-421-05240-7 (= Czech library , German first edition: Gutenberg Book Guild , Zurich 1934 ). on-line
  • The war with the newts (original title: Válka s mloky , translated by Julius Mader), Družstevni Práce Prague / Europa Verlag, Zurich 1937; NA: Aufbau Taschenbuch, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-7466-6109-4 .
  • From man (O lidech), 1944
  • Calendar. About the changing abundance of the wandering months and the people as they experience the year (Kalendář), 1945
  • The life and work of the composer Foltyn, 1954
  • The first column (První parta), Aufbau-Verlag 1954
  • The Year of the Gardener , 1957; With illustrations by Josef Čapek, translated by Grete Ebner-Eschenhayn, Aufbau, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-351-03306-4 ; NA: 2014, ISBN 978-3-351-03494-8 ; as audio book , read by Oliver Rohrbeck, translated by Marcela Euler, director: Corinna Zimber (3 CDs, 184 minutes). Audiobook , Freiburg im Breisgau 2014, ISBN 978-3-89964-758-7 .
  • My dogs, my cats (Měl jsem psa kočku), 1960
  • Fairy tales (Pohádky), 1960
  • The stolen cactus, 1963
  • Das Absolutum, Verlag Das Neue Berlin, 1976
  • Hordubal. The meteor. An Ordinary Life, 1980
  • Krakatite. A classic science fiction novel. Verlag Das Neue Berlin, 1981
  • Fables and small stories. Aufbau-Verlag, 1986
  • Like in the old days. The Book of Apocrypha. Aufbau-Verlag, 1986
  • Pictures from home. Aufbau-Verlag, 1988
  • The tale of the postman , illustration by Josef Čapek (original title: Pohádka poštácká ). LeiV, Leipzig 1990, 2011, ISBN 978-3-89603-366-6 .
  • The stolen cactus and other stories , tredition, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8495-2943-7 .
  • From Prometheus to Napoleon: Apocrypha to History (original title: Kniha apokryfu , translated by Edith Gaertnerova), Wado, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-7286-0109-4 .
  • The white disease / RUR (translated by Joachim Mols, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, ISBN 978-1-981177-37-0 )
  • with Josef Čapek: Written in the clouds. Aphorisms - Fables - Parables , edited and translated from the Czech by Hans-Horst Skupy, Edition Töpfl, Tiefenbach 2019, ISBN 978-3-942592-37-6

Adaptations

Karel Čapek's tomb and his wife Olga Scheinpflugová in the Vyšehrad cemetery
Movie
  • 1935 - Fall of the sensation or Jim Ripl's robot ( Gibel sensazii ) - based on the novel RUR - directed by Alexander Andrijewski
  • 1937 - The Hordubals ( Hordubalove ) - Director: Mac Fric
  • 1937 - The White Disease ( Bílá nemoc ) - directed by Hugo Haas
  • 1948 - Krakatit - directed by Otakar Vávra
  • 1959 - Alarm im Schacht ( První parta ) - based on the novel The First Column - directed by Otakar Vávra
  • 1964/65 - The Carpet Collector and the Trickster ( Cinta mani a Podvodník ) - Director: Jiří Krejčík
  • 1973 - The Record - Director: Guram Pataraja
  • 1980 - Dark Sun ( Krakatit ) - Director: Otakar Vávra
  • 1980 - Hordubal - Director: Václav Nývlt
  • 1982 - Fleeting Events ( Plaché příběhy ) - based on the volume of short stories from one or the other pocket - directed by Dobroslav Zborník , Tomáš Tintěra , Zdeněk Flídr
  • 1983 - The recipe of their youth ( Recept jeho mladosti ) - based on the drama The Makropolos Case - directed by Jewgeni Ginsburg
radio play

literature

Web links

Commons : Karel Čapek  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Karel Čapek  - Quotes
Wikisource: Karel Čapek  - Sources and full texts (Czech)
Wikisource: Karel Čapek  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ivan Klíma: Karel Čapek - Life and Work , Catbird Press, 2001, ISBN 0-945774-53-2 , p. 18
  2. ↑ http://www.capek-karel-pamatnik.cz/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=200013&id=14282&p1=1010
  3. ↑ Alexander Eilers: "Brothers in the flesh and in the spirit", epilogue to: Written in the clouds. Aphorisms - Fables - Parables , edited and translated from the Czech by Hans-Horst Skupy, Edition Töpfl, Tiefenbach 2019, ISBN 978-3-942592-37-6 , pp. 113–116, here p. 114.
  4. ↑ Karel Čapek: Proč nejsem komunistou? (German: Why I am not a communist ) in: Přítomnost , December 4, 1924 (Czech)
  5. ↑ Ivan Margolius. 'The Robot of Prague', Newsletter, The Friends of Czech Heritage , no.17, Autumn 2017, pp. 3 - 6. https://czechfriends.net/images/RobotsMargoliusJul2017.pdf
  6. ↑ Gottesmarter v catalog DNB
  7. ↑ crossroads in the catalog of DNB
personal data
SURNAME Čapek, Karel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Malé Svatoňovice , Kingdom of Bohemia , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH December 25, 1938
Place of death Prague , Czechoslovakia