Tag Jaroslav Hašek

Judge Barrett’s eloquence

Dr. Bedřich Welfer is an episodic but memorable character in Jaroslav Hašek’s great novel, The Good Soldier Švejk. Welfer’s uncle left him a generous allowance in his will, enabling the lucky nephew to remain a student of medicine for as…

Fit for any office of the state

My thoughts keep coming back to the story of the postmistress from the Sedlčany district as told by Švejk in Jaroslav Hašek’s novel. You can find it near the end of Part III, “A Glorious Spanking.” I’m relying on Cecil Parrott’s…

Colonel Obvious

John Schindler argues that Woodrow Wilson’s insistence on breaking up Austria-Hungary led to multiple disasters, including the subjugation of Central Europe by Hitler and Stalin. There’s enough to be said in defense of the old Habsburg empire but I can’t…