Josten, Josef, 1913-1985

Josef Josten was a Czech journalist and human rights advocate active in Prague prior to World War II and in exile during and after the war; born March 25, 1913, in Prague; served on the staff of the Prague daily Lidové noviny; joined the Czech underground movement after the German invasion in 1939; fled to France and later Britain, where he served in the Psychological Warfare Dept. of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs; rejoined his expatriate unit for the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944; broadcaster for SHAEF in Luxemburg; returned to Prague to serve in the Press Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; fled to West Germany after the communist coup of 1948; settled in England where he set up the Free Czech Information Service (FCI); established the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted, 1980, and the Human Rights Charity; appointed Member of the British Empire, 1985; died in London, Nov. 28, 1985.

Narodil se v Praze dne 25. března 1913. Celý ž ivot byl novinářem. V průbĕhu svý ch náctiletý ch let pracoval jako sportovní reporté r a poté psal pro praž ský deník Lidové noviny. Když Nĕmci vpochodovali do Prahy, přidal se k odbojovému hnutí. Jeho aktivity ho donutily uprchnout před gestapem v prosinci 1939 do Francie. Zde se připojil k československé brigádĕ.

Když byly československé jednotky evakuovány do Británie, připojil se ke své jednotce při spojenecké invazi kontinentu v roce 1944. Byl umístĕn k Nejvyššímu velení spojenecký ch expedičních sil v Lucembursku jako zpravodaj.

Po návratu do Prahy Jošten pracoval v Tiskovém oddĕlení Ministerstva zahraničních vĕcí u Jana Masaryka, syna zakladatele Československé republiky. Potom, co odmítl vstoupit do komunistické strany, Jošten založ il v Anglii Svobodnou československou informační služ bu (FCI). Agentura zasílala svůj informační bulletin Události a zprávy zpoza železné opony odbĕratelům ve více než padesáti zemích.

V roce 1980 se Jošten začal zajímat o uvĕznĕní intelektuálů ve Východním bloku, jenž ho vedlo k založení Výboru pro obranu nespravedlivĕ stíhaných a Charity lidský ch práv. Jeho snahy v poli humanitárních záležitostí v žurnalizmu vedly k jeho jmenování členem Britského impéria v roce 1985. Josef Jošten zemřel ve vĕku 72 let v Londýnĕ 29. listopadu 1985.

Born in Prague, Bohemia, on March 25, 1913, Josef Josten was a life-long journalist, starting his career as a sports reporter and as a writer for Lidove noviny, a Prague newspaper. When the Germans marched into Prague in March 1939, Josten joined the Czech underground movement. In the same year he was forced out of the country and fled to France where he joined a Czechoslovak brigade.

When Czechoslovak units were evacuated to Britain, Josten participated in the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. He served with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in Luxembourg as a news broadcaster. Returning to Prague, Josten worked in the Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Jan Masaryk, the son of the founder of the Czechoslovak Republic. After refusing to joing the Communist Party, Josten set up the Free Czechoslovak Information (FCI) Service in England. The FCI circulated its newsletter Features and News from behind the Iron Curtain to subscribers in over fifty countries.

In 1980 Josten's concern for imprisoned intellectuals led him to form the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted and the Human Rights Charity. For this effort Josten was appointed a Member of the British Empire in 1985. Josef Josten died in London on November 29, 1985.