About JirÃ Orten

Jiří Orten (1919–1941) was one of the greatest writers of Czechoslovakia’s “war generation” and arguably one of the finest European poets of the twentieth century. On his twenty-second birthday, while crossing a street in Prague, he was struck by a German ambulance. A friend took him to the General Infirmary in Prague, but as a Jew, Orten could not be treated there and had to be moved to a different hospital. Two days later, he died.

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In October 1940, Orten wrote in his notebook a list of all he was not allowed to do.

I’m not allowed to leave the house after eight in the evening.
I’m not allowed to rent an apartment.

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