Eduard Goldstücker: Czechoslovakia's Intellectual Who Fled Nazi Occupation
Eduard Goldstücker, a prominent 20th-century Czechoslovak intellectual, fled to Britain with his wife Marta in 1939 following the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Born in 1913 to a religiously observant Jewish working-class family in Slovakia, Goldstücker grew up to become a Germanist, diplomat, and witness to Europe's dramatic historical shifts.
Goldstücker's journey began in his hometown of Podbiel, where he developed a passion for languages, mastering seven by his high school years. He studied German and Romance philology at Charles University in Prague, joining the communist movement and becoming a leading figure in the communist student organization KOSTRUFA.
Initially drawn to Zionist ideas, he joined the socialist-Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher and later as an instructor at Prague’s Eckert School of Economics. His political engagement led to his arrest in 1951 and a 1953 conviction for high treason and involvement in a 'Zionist-Trotskyist conspiracy'. He spent four years in Leopoldov Prison and the uranium mines of Jáchymov before his release and rehabilitation in 1955.
Against his wishes, Goldstücker was appointed Czechoslovakia’s first envoy to Israel in 1950, where he spent a brief but formative posting. After his renewed emigration, he taught as a guest professor at the University of Konstanz in the 1980s.
Goldstücker's life was marked by political turmoil and personal growth. From his early passion for languages to his political activism and diplomatic service, he remained a prominent figure in Czechoslovakia's intellectual landscape despite the challenges he faced.
