Ivan Olbracht
| Ivan Olbracht | |
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Ivan Olbracht before 1929
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| Born | Kamil Zeman 6 January 1882 Semily, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 30 December 1952 (aged 70) Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| Occupation | Poet, journalist |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Notable works | Anna Proletářka |
| Spouse | Helena Malířová |
| Relatives | Antal Stašek (father) |
Ivan Olbracht (born Kamil Zeman) (6 January 1882, Semily, Bohemia – 20 December 1952, Prague) was a Czech writer, journalist and translator of German prose.
The son of writer Antal Stašek, Olbracht studied law and philosophy in Prague and Berlin. In 1905, he first began editing a social-democratic workers' newspaper in Vienna (Historical papers, Dělnické listy), and later he did the same in Prague (The people's right, Právo lidu). In 1921, Olbracht joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and began working as a journalist, primarily for Rudé právo. He was twice imprisoned due to his communist views, first in 1926 (in Slezská Ostrava) and later in 1928 (in the Prague Pankrác Prison).
Olbracht was a student of law, which he studied in Berlin and Prague. He left before graduation, however, choosing the career of a journalist. He began work as a journalist in a Czech Social Democratic paper in Vienna, writing for the paper between 1909 until 1916.
When he first began publishing his works, Olbracht was primarily a writer of stories and novels with a psychological theme. This phase of his writing life was before and during the First World War. After the war, however, he shifted his focus on journalism. His works after the War are an experimentation in blending fiction and realism.
Olbracht wrote stories concerning the legends and people of sub-Carpathian Ruthenia, as well as reports concerning his journeys into the Soviet Union.
After the War, Olbracht was also increasingly drawn to politics, specially the radical side. In 1920 he lived in Soviet Russia for six months, became a member of the Communist party, and took up the job of editor of its paper Rudé právo. He was arrested for political agitation in 1926 and 1928.
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