Czech Vašek

Negative Carricature of Czech Vašek talking to Deutscher Michel

Böhmischer Zukunfts-Parlamentsmusiker

Czech Vašek (literal. "Czech Václav") is a historical figure representing the national character of the Czech people used in time of national competition with German nationalism at the end of the 19th century.

Overview

Such figures differ from those that serve as personifications of the nation itself, as Čechie did the Czech nation and Marianne the French.^[1] He is usually depicted in a folk costume combining hat from Pilsen region with clothes from different regions.

They were used as a negative caricature of Czechs by Germans, symbolising them as street musicians. But also positively by Czech themselves.

Czech Vašek is considered a counterpart to Deutscher Michel, a figure representing the national character of the German people.^[2]

↑ Eric Hobsbawm, "Mass-Producing Traditions: Europe, 1870–1914," in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), 276.
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