The Manifesto of Czech writers (Czech, ''Manifest českých spisovatelů'') was the first public declaration in favour of the self-determination of the Czech nation during the

First World War 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 ...

. It was published in May 1917. The declaration was directed at the Czech deputies at the Imperial Council in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the Parliament of the Austrian parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The principal author was Jaroslav Kvapil (1868–1950), director of the Czech National Theatre in Prague, and the manifesto was signed by over two hundred Czech writers, journalists and scientists. It proposed that Czech members of the Imperial Council should either declare their support for the concept of Czech autonomy or else should resign their seats.J. Poláček, ''Manifest českých spisovatelů'' (2007) Manifesto was signed by

Jindřich Šimon Baar Jindřich Šimon Baar (7 February 1869, Klenčí pod Čerchovem – 24 October 1925, Klenčí pod Čerchovem) was a Czech Catholic priest and writer, realist, author of the so-called ''country prose''. He joined the Czech ''Catholic modern sty ...

, Otokar Březina,

Josef Čapek Josef Čapek (; 23 March 1887 – April 1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek. ...

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...

Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod (; 21 February 1860 in Domažlice – 3 November 1927 in Prague) was a Czech naturalistic writer and a journalist. Biography In 1879 he graduated at the gymnasium in Domažlice. He was a long-term cooperator of the '' ...

, Jakub Deml,

Viktor Dyk Viktor Dyk (; 31 December 1877 – 14 May 1931) was a nationalist Czech poet, prose writer, playwright, politician and political writer. He was sent to jail during the First World War for opposing the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was one of the sig ...

, Vladimír Helfert,

Jan Herben Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

, Adolf Heyduk, Alois Jirásek, Jan Kapras, Jan Klecanda,

Karel Klostermann Karel Klostermann (german: Karl Klostermann; 13 February 1848 – 17 July 1923) was a Czech-German writer. He wrote under the alias ''Faustin''. Biography Klostermann was born on 13 February 1848 in Haag am Hausruck, Upper Austria. From 1857 ...

Eliška Krásnohorská Eliška Krásnohorská (18 November 1847, in Prague – 26 November 1926, in Prague) was a Czech feminist author. She was introduced to literature and feminism by Karolína Světlá. She wrote works of lyric poetry and literary criticism, however ...

Kamil Krofta Kamil Krofta (17 July 1876 – 16 August 1945) was a Czech historian and diplomat.Honajzer George (1995). ''Vznik a rozpad vládních koalic v Československu v letech 1918-1938.'' stablishment and dissolution of government coalitions in Czecho ...

, Petr Křička, Jaroslav Kvapil,

Jiří Mahen Jiří Mahen (born: Antonín Vančura; 12 December 1882 – 22 May 1939) was a Czech novelist, playwright and essayist. Life He was born Antonín Vančura, in Čáslav, to an old noble family of the Bohemian Brethren faith. In his grammar-s ...

Josef Svatopluk Machar Josef Svatopluk Machar (; 1864 – 1942) was a Czech poet and essayist. A leader of the realist movement in Czech poetry and a master of colloquial Czech, Machar was active in anti-Austrian political circles in Vienna. Many of his poems were sati ...

Marie Majerová Marie Majerová (1 February 1882 – 16 January 1967) was a Czech writer and translator. Biography The daughter of working-class parents, she was born in Úvaly and grew up in Kladno. When she was sixteen, she began working as a servant in B ...

, Helena Malířová,

Alois Mrštík Alois (Latinized ''Aloysius'') is an Old Occitan form of the name Louis. Modern variants include ''Aloïs'' ( French), ''Aloys'' (German), ''Alois'' (Czech), ''Alojz'' ( Slovak, Slovenian), '' Alojzy'' (Polish), '' Aloísio'' (Portuguese, Spanis ...

Zdeněk Nejedlý Zdeněk Nejedlý (10 February 1878 – 9 March 1962) was a Czech musicologist, historian, music critic, author, and politician whose ideas dominated the cultural life of what is now the Czech Republic for most of the twentieth century. Although ...

Arne Novák Arne Novák, born as Arnošt Novák, (2 March 1880, Litomyšl, Bohemia – 26 November 1939, Polička) was a Czech literary historian and critic, specialist in German and Czech studies. Life He was born as a son of the high school teacher Josef ...

, Ivan Olbracht,

Emanuel Rádl Emanuel Rádl (December 21, 1873 – May 12, 1942) was an original Czech biologist, historian of science, philosopher and a critical supporter of Masaryk´s pre-war democratic Czechoslovakia. He earned international renown by his works on th ...

Karel Václav Rais Karel Václav Rais (January 4, 1859 – July 8, 1926) was a Czech realist novelist, author of the so-called ''country prose'', numerous books for youth and children, and several poems. Biography Rais was born into the family of a simple farm ...

Antonín Sova Anton may refer to: People * Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Anton (surname) Places * Anton Municipality, Bulgaria ** Anton, Sofia Province, a village * Antón District, Panama ** Antón, a town and capital ...

Antal Stašek Antal Stašek (born Antonín Zeman) (22 July 1843 – 9 October 1931) was a Czech writer and lawyer. Life and work Stašek was born in the village of Stanový (now part of Zlatá Olešnice) in northern Bohemia. From 1877, Stašek was a successf ...

, František Xaver Svoboda,

Růžena Svobodová Růžena Svobodová (10 July 1868 – 1 January 1920), born Růžena Čápová, was a Czechoslovakia, Czech writer. Early life Růžena Čápová was born in Mikulovice (Znojmo District), Mikulovice, a small town in southern Moravia. Her family ...

František Xaver Šalda František () is a masculine given name of Czech origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: *Frank Daniel (František Daniel) (1926–1996), Czech film director, producer, and screenwriter ...

, Anna Marie Tilschová and others.

Notes

{{reflist Czech nationalism 1910s in Czechoslovakia 1917 documents