Josef Kopta (16 June 1894 inLibochovice,Bohemia – 3 April 1962 in Prague) was aCzech writer and journalist.
Before World War I, Kopta worked as a bank clerk. In 1914 he was sent to the Eastern front, in 1915 taken prisoner and later joinedCzechoslovak Legions inRussia.
After the war he worked as a journalist in newspapersNárodní osvobození andLidové noviny. In 1919 Kopta started to write poetry, without having much of success. During the 1920s and 1930s he, together withFrantišek Langer andRudolf Medek represented literary form concentrated on the Legions (legionářská literatura). Kopta's short novels and stories were the most successful of his writing.
Kopta concentrates on common people dragged into the war and on psychology of characters during the warfare and post-war life. His characters enthusiastically support the national cause and are usually suspicious of theRussian Revolution of 1917. Before and after World War II, Kopta published several books for the youth.
The trilogyThe Third Company (Třetí rota, 1924),The Third Company on the Magistral (Třetí rota na magistrále, 1927) andThe Third Company at Home (Třetí rota doma, 1934) is based on author's experience in the Legions. The first book was the most successful, and it was filmed in 1931.[1]
The novelGuard No. 47 (Hlídač č.47, 1926), a psychological story about a railway guard who is temporarily deafened and later, after the disability goes away, pretends to still be deaf to find out what his friends and acquaintances are really saying about him. The novel ends tragically. A movie based on the book wasfilmed in 1937[2], according to a screenplay byOtakar Vávra. A different movie adaptation, directed byFilip Renč, was released in 2008 under the nameGuard No. 47.
The novelAdolf waits for the death (Adolf čeká na smrt, 1933) about common people who, despite lack of fortune, rise to ethical greatness.
