Adventures of Austrian Empire Anti-War Working Class Hero

******

. . . It was at the time when the forests along the river Ráb in Galicia saw Austrian troops fleeing across that stream. And down in Serbia, one Austrian division after another was getting a long-deserved kick in the seat of the pants. Then, out of the blue, the Austrian Ministry of Military Affairs remembered S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk, just in time to help the monarchy out of its current mess.

S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk just happened to be laying in bed, stricken again with rheumatism, when they brought him the notice that he was to appear in one week for a medical exam at Str s hackem v cerne.gif (833 bytes)elecký Island.

When he received the news, Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller was making coffee for him in the kitchen.

"Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller," S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk’s called quietly from the bedroom. "Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller, come here for a moment."

When the cleaning woman came to his bed,       S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk addressed her in a quiet but mysteriously festive tone:

"Sit down, Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller."

When Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller did sit down, S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk suddenly rose up in his bed and declared:

"I’m going in the military!"

"Virgin Mary!" exclaimed Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller. "What will you do there?"

"Fight," answered S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk with a grave voice. "Austria is in big trouble. The enemy is already creeping up on Krakow and down under into Hungary. We’re getting threshed like rye wherever we look. And, that’s why they’re calling me in for military service. Remember how yesterday I was reading to you from the paper that the dear motherland has been surrounded by a bunting of very dark clouds?"

"But you can’t even move."

"That doesn’t matter, Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller. I will ride to military service in a wheelchair. The confectioner around the corner, he has such a wheelchair. He used to push his nasty, paralyzed, old grandfather out into the fresh air with it."

"You, Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller, will push me into the military service in that wheelchair!"

Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller started crying:

"Oh Mr. S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk! Shouldn’t I just run and get you a doctor?"

"Don’t go anywhere, Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller. I am, except for my legs, absolutely healthy cannon fodder. And, at a time when it is grim for Austria, every cripple must be at his post. Be calm and keep making the coffee."

Though upset, Mrs. Mu s umlautem v cerne.gif (835 bytes)ller continued to strain the coffee in the kitchen. Meanwhile, the good soldier S s hackem v cerne.gif (857 bytes)vejk started singing from his bed: . . .


Now that you have heard of, or might have even served in Sarajevo and Bosnia Herzegovina
why not By reading The Good Soldier Svejk, you will get a heavy dose of culture and a glimpse at modern social history in the making. You will have read an important book. And, best of all you'll laugh and have a really good time doing it. How often does a situation like this come along? Rarely. What better way to "close the books" on the twentieth century, than by looking back at where it all began? So, kick off your shoes, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy.
the Primer on World War
         Madness Survival:
World War One, amplified by modern weapons and techniques, quickly escalated to become a massive human meatgrinder. It has been eclipsed in many memories by World War Two, the most horrendous conflict of all time. However, if you set that debacle aside, World War One would easily dwarf any other in human history. Fifteen million people died, one million of them Austrian soldiers. Jaroslav Hasek participated in this conflict and examined it in The Good Soldier Svejk.

So, as you can see, the setting of The Good Soldier Svejk is right there on the cutting edge of historical change. It is Jaroslav Hasek's peek, a la Charlie Chaplin, at the dawn of truly modern times.

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