Jan Beneš
Encyclopedia
Jan Beneš was a Czech
writer, translator, publicist and screenwriter. He was also using pseudonyms Milan Štěpka, Bobisud Mihule, Mojmír Čada, Ing. Čada, JAB, JeBe, Světlana and others. He is an author of many novels and several historical books. He was a political prisoner of Czechoslovak communist regime, and a Green Beret volunteer. In 1969 after the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
Beneš emigrated to United States
. He served 20 years at the US Department of Defense. He returned to Czech Republic
in 1992 after the change of regime.
. Bohumil Beneš then worked on the new nation's defenses but in 1938 Czechoslovakia handed over the Sudetenland
territory to Nazi Germany
without a fight. Bohumil then turned his efforts towards fighting the Nazi occupation. On 11 September 1943, 7 year old Jan's maternal grandfather, Wenzel Kraft, was executed by the Nazis. At the end of the war, the February 1948 Communist coup in Russia lead to Czechoslovakia becoming one of the communist Eastern bloc
nations. Jan Beneš graduated from United High School in 1951 after all secondary grammar schools were closed due to the Nejedly’s communist school reform. In 1955, Jan Beneš finished his studies at the Academy of Beaux Arts. Two of his school projects were later placed into the Czechoslovak exposition at EXPO 1958 in Brussels, and rewarded. But, he was not allowed to go there and get the prize.
mine Bytiz in Příbram
region. This experience was a real eye-opener for a young son of a career officer. Jan Beneš wrote Second Breath, a book about this communistic concentration camp, in 1963. Ideological Department of the ÚV KSČ (Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
) banned its publication in 1964. Finally it was published in the United States
by Orion Press N.Y. in 1969.
During the sixties, while he was working as a stage technician in the Prague Puppet Theatre, he managed to publish novels Do vrabců jako když střelí (Shooting into the Sparrows) and Situace (Situations). Jan Beneš started to write for exile magazine Svědectví (Testimony). Book of novels Disproporce (Disproportion) was published in 1965, but banned because of his upcoming arrest. His family was expelled from the officer’s house because of action B–Bourgeoisie. The family lived in a squat in Prague
, close to the river Vltava
.
In 1966, Jan Beneš married Šárka Sefranka. After collecting more than 300 signatures on a petition against the imprisonment of the Russian writers Sinyavski and Daniel, he was held 11 months in custody. He was arrested ten days after the wedding, for the crime of treason - subversion of the socialistic social and state system, and an attempt for deceit. According to H Schwarz’s 200 Days in Prague, the ill-famed trial Tigrid
–Beneš–Zámečník, and involvement of the head of the state and the Communistic Party in fact launched the events of the Prague Spring. Lawyer of the Amnesty International
, Dr. Sieghart, was expelled from Czechoslovakia during Beneš’s trial. Pregnant Sarka was brutally interrogated by the StB. Pressure on the family was immense. Beneš was sentenced for 5 years in prison, but was released on March 22, 1968, due to the amnesty of president Novotný
, as the last political prisoner in Czechoslovakia.
In 1968, after the Soviet invasion
, Jan and Šárka Beneš emigrated from Czechoslovakia to France
. They returned in January 1969, during the Jan Palach|Palach’s week , to support the public resistance against the Soviet invasion. In October 1969, after massive wave of emigration, Czechoslovak government eventually invalidated all passports and closed the borders. Jan Beneš was informed that he would be arrested again. My Father did not Fall for Anything, Triangle with Madonna, and After you slept with me you will cry were published at this time.
Jan Beneš worked in various blue-collar jobs, for example in crane maintenance for Danly Machine Corporation, before he became a Research Fellow in International House at Harvard University
in 1972. After the beginning of the War in Vietnam Jan Beneš tried to join the US Armed Forces, but was refused as too old for regular service. In 1974 he started to work for the Department of Defense, the Defense Language Institute, at Foreign Language Center in Montery
, California
, as a teacher of Czech language
, geography and history. He went through all the training with the Green Berets as a volunteer and participated in many missions, mostly abroad.
After the Velvet Revolution
, Jan Beneš returned to Czechoslovakia. In 1992, it was too late to influence the chain of events after the series of too velvet takeovers, because the handover of power was already done. Jan Bene published his principal books such as Crime of Genocide, Indolence, American Causerie, Marked by Darkness, Dead is My Godmother, and Time smells by Dreams. In his life, he had published almost 3000 articles in various newspapers. Jan Beneš never gave up his work for democracy and freedom.
His, ill-famed detention in March 2001 and subsequent trial with BIS officer Vladimír Hučín
, became the breaking point, where Czech justice system was tested.
Sir Martin Gilbert mentioned Jan Beneš’ influence on the events during the Prague Spring
and formation of Czechoslovak dissent in his “History of the Twentieth Century” .
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
writer, translator, publicist and screenwriter. He was also using pseudonyms Milan Štěpka, Bobisud Mihule, Mojmír Čada, Ing. Čada, JAB, JeBe, Světlana and others. He is an author of many novels and several historical books. He was a political prisoner of Czechoslovak communist regime, and a Green Beret volunteer. In 1969 after the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
Beneš emigrated to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He served 20 years at the US Department of Defense. He returned to Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
in 1992 after the change of regime.
Early life
Prior to his birth, Beneš' father Bohumil, participated in the liberation of Czechoslovakia as a member of the Russian Legions during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Bohumil Beneš then worked on the new nation's defenses but in 1938 Czechoslovakia handed over the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
territory to Nazi Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
without a fight. Bohumil then turned his efforts towards fighting the Nazi occupation. On 11 September 1943, 7 year old Jan's maternal grandfather, Wenzel Kraft, was executed by the Nazis. At the end of the war, the February 1948 Communist coup in Russia lead to Czechoslovakia becoming one of the communist Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
nations. Jan Beneš graduated from United High School in 1951 after all secondary grammar schools were closed due to the Nejedly’s communist school reform. In 1955, Jan Beneš finished his studies at the Academy of Beaux Arts. Two of his school projects were later placed into the Czechoslovak exposition at EXPO 1958 in Brussels, and rewarded. But, he was not allowed to go there and get the prize.
Career
In 1956, Jan Beneš was recruited to the paratroop unit and served his obligatory military service. In the end of this service, in 1958, he was arrested and sentenced to 25 months for undermining of combat moral of the troops, interference with political education of the troops, illegal arming, and stealing military underwear. He served this sentence mostly in uraniumUranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
mine Bytiz in Příbram
Príbram
Příbram is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic with a population of 35,147. The city is located on the Litavka river and the foothills of Brdy, 60 kilometers south-west of Prague, the country's capital...
region. This experience was a real eye-opener for a young son of a career officer. Jan Beneš wrote Second Breath, a book about this communistic concentration camp, in 1963. Ideological Department of the ÚV KSČ (Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....
) banned its publication in 1964. Finally it was published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Orion Press N.Y. in 1969.
During the sixties, while he was working as a stage technician in the Prague Puppet Theatre, he managed to publish novels Do vrabců jako když střelí (Shooting into the Sparrows) and Situace (Situations). Jan Beneš started to write for exile magazine Svědectví (Testimony). Book of novels Disproporce (Disproportion) was published in 1965, but banned because of his upcoming arrest. His family was expelled from the officer’s house because of action B–Bourgeoisie. The family lived in a squat in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, close to the river Vltava
Vltava
The Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running north from its source in Šumava through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague, merging with the Elbe at Mělník...
.
In 1966, Jan Beneš married Šárka Sefranka. After collecting more than 300 signatures on a petition against the imprisonment of the Russian writers Sinyavski and Daniel, he was held 11 months in custody. He was arrested ten days after the wedding, for the crime of treason - subversion of the socialistic social and state system, and an attempt for deceit. According to H Schwarz’s 200 Days in Prague, the ill-famed trial Tigrid
Pavel Tigrid
Pavel Tigrid was a writer, publisher and author of Czech origin. He is considered one of the most important personalities of the exile Czech journalism.-Biography:He left Czechoslovakia as a young man to evade the Nazis...
–Beneš–Zámečník, and involvement of the head of the state and the Communistic Party in fact launched the events of the Prague Spring. Lawyer of the Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Dr. Sieghart, was expelled from Czechoslovakia during Beneš’s trial. Pregnant Sarka was brutally interrogated by the StB. Pressure on the family was immense. Beneš was sentenced for 5 years in prison, but was released on March 22, 1968, due to the amnesty of president Novotný
Antonín Novotný
Antonín Novotný was General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1968, and also held the post of President of Czechoslovakia from 1957 to 1968. He was born in Letňany, now part of Prague....
, as the last political prisoner in Czechoslovakia.
In 1968, after the Soviet invasion
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...
, Jan and Šárka Beneš emigrated from Czechoslovakia to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. They returned in January 1969, during the Jan Palach|Palach’s week , to support the public resistance against the Soviet invasion. In October 1969, after massive wave of emigration, Czechoslovak government eventually invalidated all passports and closed the borders. Jan Beneš was informed that he would be arrested again. My Father did not Fall for Anything, Triangle with Madonna, and After you slept with me you will cry were published at this time.
Jan Beneš worked in various blue-collar jobs, for example in crane maintenance for Danly Machine Corporation, before he became a Research Fellow in International House at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1972. After the beginning of the War in Vietnam Jan Beneš tried to join the US Armed Forces, but was refused as too old for regular service. In 1974 he started to work for the Department of Defense, the Defense Language Institute, at Foreign Language Center in Montery
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, as a teacher of Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, geography and history. He went through all the training with the Green Berets as a volunteer and participated in many missions, mostly abroad.
After the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, Jan Beneš returned to Czechoslovakia. In 1992, it was too late to influence the chain of events after the series of too velvet takeovers, because the handover of power was already done. Jan Bene published his principal books such as Crime of Genocide, Indolence, American Causerie, Marked by Darkness, Dead is My Godmother, and Time smells by Dreams. In his life, he had published almost 3000 articles in various newspapers. Jan Beneš never gave up his work for democracy and freedom.
His, ill-famed detention in March 2001 and subsequent trial with BIS officer Vladimír Hučín
Vladimír Hucín
Vladimír Hučín is a Czech political celebrity and dissident of both communist and post/communist era....
, became the breaking point, where Czech justice system was tested.
Sir Martin Gilbert mentioned Jan Beneš’ influence on the events during the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
and formation of Czechoslovak dissent in his “History of the Twentieth Century” .