Christmas on the front

This postcard, depicting soldiers huddled close together around a small Christmas tree, writing letters to loved ones back home, is one of the many sentimental cards produced during the war. Images like this one, mass-produced and sent by soldiers on both sides of the global conflict, played an important morale function but tell us little about the individuals who sent them. The message on this card, however, from a father to his young daughter, is endearing and still strikes a chord today, as I hold it in my hands reading it at Christmastime.

The sender, Jaroslav Hrádek, came from the small town of Mlázovice located in northwest Bohemia. A spa was active here throughout the 1800s and until the mid-1950s.

The message was written and sent on Christmas Day, likely from the Italian front, as the field post number, marked in Hungarian as "Tabori Rostahivatal 109," suggests. Hrádek was a platoon leader (zugsführer) in the 94th Infantry Regiment, who according a regimental history, was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery, Second Class, and the Bronze Medal for Bravery.

The official list of casualties published in June 19, 1917, lists Hrádek as having been wounded in battle in an unspecified location. Interestingly, he was at that time recorded as being a member of the 18th Infantry Regiment.

After the war and a restaurant mystery

According to the 1921 census, the first taken in the newly independent Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Hrádek survived the war and returned to his wife and daughter (both named Anna, or Annička in the diminutive form), as well as his mother-in-law, Františka (the grandmother mentioned in the postcard). The "little" Annička, however, was older than I supposed; born in 1899, she was seventeen at Christmas 1916. Perhaps, it was the use of the diminutive dceruška (little daughter) and the mention of next year's Ježíšek (the Christ Child, the traditional bringer of gifts in the Czech lands) that threw me off track.

Recall that Jarsolav addressed his letter to "the little daughter of a restauranteur." According to the census data, however, Jaroslav was a farmer and had been one before the war. He even had two hired farmhands and a servant girl living at his house, and was therefore relatively successful at his livelihood.

But what about a possible restaurant connection? Mlázovice is a very small town and a restaurant has been located on its square from the late 1700s until today. The 1921 census indicates a different family living at and operating the restaurant, but who had only recently moved there. Could the Hrádek family also have run the Mlázovice restaurant at some point in time? For now, it remains a mystery.

This post is part of a series examining World War I–era postcards written in the Czech language. By combining close readings of the messages, analyses of the images, and historical context, I seek to unravel some of the personal and historical mysteries presented by these cards and explore the lives of the individuals who sent and received them.

I am a professional Czech-to-English translator and academic copy editor specializing in the humanities and social sciences. If you are working on a history project and could use assistance with editing, proofreading, translating Czech documents, or conducting research in Czech archives, please get in touch.