The Friday Men (, ) were a Czech intellectual and political circle that met in the garden of

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

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

house on Friday afternoons from 1921 till Čapek's death in 1938. The group also sometimes met in Café Slavia. A cartoon by

Adolf Hoffmeister Adolf Hoffmeister (15 August 1902 – 24 July 1973) was a Czechoslovak writer, publicist, playwright, painter, draughtsman, scenographer, cartoonist, translator, diplomat, lawyer, university professor and traveller. During the war, he served as ed ...

shows in the first row

Ferdinand Peroutka Ferdinand Peroutka (6 February 1895 – 20 April 1978) was a Czech journalist and writer. A prominent political thinker and journalist during the First Czechoslovak Republic, Peroutka was persecuted by the Nazi regime for his democratic convict ...

, , editor of the ''

Prager Presse The ''Prager Presse'' (Prague press) was a German newspaper published in the First Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak Republic from March 1921 to 1939. History The newspaper Prager Presse was founded by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk with the aim of ...

Arne Laurin Arne Laurin (real name Arnošt Lustig; 1889 in Hrnčíře village, Praha-Šeberov, Prague – 17 February 1945 in New York City) was a Czech-Jewish journalist. He was editor of the Prager Presse and one of Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 J ...

, then in the second row: Karl Kraus, František Langer, Karel Čapek, theatre critic

Josef Kodíček Josef Kodíček (24 January 1892 – November 1954) was a Czech journalist and theatre critic.''Czech writers on tolerance'' České centrum PEN klubu - 1994 "At the inaugural meeting Frantisek Langer was elected chairman, Josef Kodicek secretary ...

, , and then in the third row

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. ...

Vladislav Vančura Vladislav Vančura (; 23 June 1891 – 1 June 1942) was a Czech writer. He was also active as a film director, playwright and screenwriter. A member of the Czech resistance during WWII, he was captured and murdered by the Nazis. Early years Va ...

Tomáš Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovaks, Czechoslovak statesman, political activist and philosopher who served as the first List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 191 ...

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

, Karel Poláček, and finally in the fourth row journalist František Kubka, Josef Kopta, Dr. L. Procházka, Vilem Mathesius, and historian . No women attended.Andrea Orzoff ''Battle for the Castle: The Myth of Czechoslovakia in Europe, 1914-1948'' Stanford University. Dept. of History 2009 p89 Adolf Hoffmeister's cartoon of the Friday Men. p90 "Other journalistic members included Prager Presse chief editor Arne Laurin and reporter František Kubka; Josef Kodícek, Tribuna drama critic and theater director; and friendly reporters from hostile papers, such as Národní listy's Karel ..." Čapek's wife Olga Scheinpflugová attempted to revive the meetings after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Among post-war participants were

Hugo Haas Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films from 1926 to 1962 and directed 20 films from 1933 to 1962. Life and career Haas was born in Brno, Austria-Hung ...

Jaroslav Seifert Jaroslav Seifert (; 23 September 1901 – 10 January 1986) was a Czech writer, poet and journalist. Seifert was awarded the 1984 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides ...

, František Langer and Vlado Clementis.

References

{{reflist Debating societies