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Czechoslovak Republic. Czechoslovakia. 50th Anniversary Badge of the birth of journalist Julius Fučík, member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. 1953.
Julius Fučík (Prague, February 23, 1903 – Berlin, September 8, 1943) was a Czechoslovak journalist and writer, member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. He was arrested by the Gestapo and later executed.
He was born into a working-class family. His father was a steelworker, and his uncle was the composer Julius Fučík. He studied philosophy at the University of Pilsen. In 1921, he joined the Communist Party, and around this time, he started working as a literary and theater critic. Later, he became a writer for the communist publications Rudé Právo and Tvorba, where he published reports on social and cultural issues.
In the early 1930s, he made several trips to the Soviet Union. His documentary work V zemi, kde zítra už znamená včera («In the land where tomorrow is already yesterday») was the result of these travels.
When the Nazi army occupied Czechoslovakia, he continued publishing under a pseudonym, recovering key figures of Czechoslovak progressive culture. In February 1941, he became a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in secrecy, responsible for illegal publications. In April 1942, he was arrested by the Gestapo, transferred to Berlin in the summer of the following year, tortured, and executed by hanging in Plötzensee prison months later.
His work Reportáž psaná na oprátce («Report from the Gallows») was smuggled out of prison page by page and published in 1945, gaining international recognition. It has been translated into ninety languages. September 8 is commemorated as International Journalist Day in his honor, as he was executed by the Nazis on September 8, 1943.
