“We too are Dover, and our borders are the cliffs of the West.”

Karel Čapek for the BBC

Karel Čapek gained international recognition with his play R.U.R. (1920), in which he coined the term “robot”. The work resonated particularly strongly in England —the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution—and in the United States of America, which emerged as the most dynamic industrial power of the time.

Čapek attracted the attention of leading artists and the media in Britain and was also actively involved in fostering international literaru connections through the PEN Club. From 1925 to 1933, he served as as the head of the Czechoslovak section and maintained friendly relations with the first and second chairmen, John Galsworthy and H.G.Wells.

Winston Churchill, later wartime prime minister and Nobel Prize laureate in literature, openly expressed admiration for Čapek’s foresight. In his essay “Fifty Years Hence” (1931), Churchill speculated that Čapek’s humanoid robots—androids—might become a reality within half a century.

Until the end of his life, in late December 1938, Čapek continued to appeal to British public opinion through personal connections with influential figures, his role in the PEN Club, and through press interviews and BBC broadcasts. He consistently empasized Czechoslovakia’s cultural and geopolitical ties to the democratic West. Even after the tragedy of the Munich Agreement, he demonstrated remarkable clarity and refused to equate the British people with the politicians who, in the name of appeasement, sacrificed the young Czechoslovak Republic.

Čapek’s reputation continued to serve as an effective tool of cultural diplomacy even during the occupation. As early as May 1940, before the fall of France, reporter Jiří Mucha delivered a negative of Čapek’s iconic picture—“TGM in a blouse buttoned up to his neck, a fur jacket on his head”—from his Prague apartment to Julius Firt, the former director of the Lidové noviny. Thousands of reproductions were printed at the Draeger Frères printing house to boost the morale of soldiers and other compatriots.

American producer Ferrel, who previously negotiated the purchase of film rights for R.U.R. and Pictures from the Insects’ Life, provided the Czechoslvoak resistance with 160,000 francs out of respect for Karel Čapek at a critical moment. This contribution enabled the purchase of two trucks used to evacuate archival materials and personnel from Paris to the south.

Čapek’s loyal London publishers, Allen & Unwin, also contributed by preparing a Czech edition of Talks with T. G. Masaryk, intended primarily to support Czechoslovak airmen serving in the RAF. In additoin, they supported reprints of of translations of popular works such as Letters from England, The Gardener’s Year, R.U.R., and others.

Karel Čapek’s successor as chairman of the Czechoslovak PEN Club was his longtime friend, Colonel František Langer, himself a successful playwright and, at the time, head of the Czechoslovak army’s medical service in the West. Čapek’s legacy also remained present in the media through the efforts of Julius Firt, a member of the exiled parliament and an active media figure, who delivered numerous articles and both personal and radio lectures on Čapek’s ideas.

Jan Masaryk, another close associate of Čapek and former ambassador to London who served as Czechoslovak foreign minister during the war, often referenced Čapek’s Czech identity, work, and character in radio broadcasts to his homeland via the BBC. President Edvard Beneš, an enthusiastic participant in Čapek’s “Friday Men” garden parties, was also actively involved. In coordination with state propaganda efforts, Čapek had invited him to pre-premiere discussions on his new works such as The White Disease.

Even after his untimely death, Karel Čapek remained a powerful figure in Czechoslovak cultural diplomacy. As an exemplar of the artist, journalist, and citizen, he contributed to bolstering the morale of soldiers and exiles, reinforced Czechoslovak-British relations, and helped legitimize efforts to restore a democratic republic.