Josef Kopta (16 June 1894 in

Libochovice Libochovice (german: Libochowitz) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dubany and Poplze are administrative parts of Libochovice. ...

, Bohemia – 3 April 1962 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

writer and journalist. Before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Kopta worked as a bank clerk. In 1914 he was sent to the Eastern front, in 1915 taken prisoner and later joined

Czechoslovak Legions , image = Coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Legion.svg , image_size = 200px , alt = , caption = Czechoslovak Legion coat of arms , start_date ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. After the war he worked as a journalist in newspapers ''Národní osvobození'' and ''

Lidové noviny ''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record.František Langer František Langer (3 March 1888 – 2 August 1965) was a Czech-Jewish playwright, screenwriter, essayist, literary critic, publicist and military physician. Life Langer was born and in Prague, Austria-Hungary in a Czech speaking Jewish fam ...

and

Rudolf Medek Rudolf Medek (8 January 1890 in Hradec Králové – 22 August 1940) was a Czech poet, army-related prose writer, and a general in the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia. In 1919 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order by George V which he sent ...

represented literary form concentrated on the Legions (''legionářská literatura''). Kopta's short novels and stories were the most successful of his writing. Kopta concentrates on common people dragged into the war and on psychology of characters during the warfare and post-war life. His characters enthusiastically support the national cause and are usually suspicious of the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. Before and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Kopta published several books for the youth.

Selected works

* Trilogy "''The Third Company''" (''Třetí rota'', 1924), "''The Third Company on the Magistral''" (''Třetí rota na magistrále'', 1927) and "''The Third Company at Home''" (''Třetí rota doma'', 1934) is based on author's experience in the Legions. The first book was the most successful and was filmed in 1931.
/sup> * Novel "''Guard No. 47''" (''Hlídač č.47'', 1926), a psychological story about a railway guard who is temporarily deafened and later, after the disability goes away, pretends to still be deaf to find out what his friends and acquaintances are really saying about him. The novel ends tragically. A movie based on the book was filmed in 1937
/sup>, according to a screenplay by

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czechs, Czech film director, screenwriter and Pedagogy, pedagogue. He was born in Hradec Králové, Austria-Hungary, now part of the Czech Republic. Biography and career Vávra atten ...

. A different movie adaptation, directed by

Filip Renč Filip Renč (born 17 August 1965) is a Czech film director, screenwriter, and actor. Biograph Filip Renč was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Since his childhood, he already proved his enthusiasm for movies and drama. As a young boy he appear ...

, was released in 2008 under the name '' Guard No. 47''. * Novel "''Adolf waits for the death''" (''Adolf čeká na smrt'', 1933) about common people who, despite lack of fortune, rise to ethical greatness.

References

* Bohuš Balajka et al.: "Přehledné dějiny literatury II", 2001, . * Vladimír Forst et al.: "Lexikon české literatury: osobnosti, díla, instituce", part 2, vol. 2, K-L, 1993, .

External links

Short biography
(in Czech)

(in Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopta, Josef 1894 births 1962 deaths People from Libochovice Czech male writers Czechoslovak Legions in literature