FIRT (Fuerth), JULIUS

FIRT (Fuerth), JULIUS (1897–1979), Czech journalist and publisher. Born in Sestrouň near Sedlčany (Bohemia), he became director of the Borový and Lidové Noviny publishing houses in 1936 and during the 1920s and 1930s attended the Pátečníci gatherings (see *Fischer, Otokar). He escaped from Czechoslovakia to England, where he worked for the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. Back home, from 1945 to 1948 he served as a deputy in Parliament and was in charge of the Melantrich publishing house. During his second exile, after 1948, he was director of Radio Free Europe in Munich.

Firt became well known for his book Knihy a osudy ("Books and Fates") published in exile and smuggled into Czechoslovakia, where it was published only in 1991. It presents a picture of the spiritual and cultural atmosphere of Masaryk's First Republic as well as a wealth of information about Czech writers, poets, and journalists such as Josef and Karel Čapek, Ferdinand Peroutka, Karel *Poláček, Ivan *Olbracht, Vítězslav Nezval, Karel Teige, Bedřich Fučík, the actor Hugo Haas, etc. Firt also contributed two articles about the role of Jews in the First Republic to Die Burg (1973–74; "The Castle"). His Záznamy (1985; "Notes") appeared posthumously describing Czechoslovakia's political situation in 1948 and his exile in London during World War ii.

bibliography:

A. Mikulášek et al., Literatura s hvězdou Davidovou, vol. 1 (1998); Slovník českých spisovatelů (1982).

[Milos Pojar (2^nd ed.)]