Abstrakt
Czech travel literature is rich in prominent names, but Karel Hansa stands out among them in a unique manner. He is especially distinguished by the fact that he did not become someone who wrote lightly about interesting and extraordinary events or customs of faraway exotic lands.
His very first literary work, The Horrors of the East, is in fact a historical document on the Genocide of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923, and an eyewitness account on the fate of its survivors. It is this book that inspired the following in-depth study.
This article is the first attempt to comprehensively examine the life and literary heritage of a person who passed through two World Wars, and to present a complete view. It is also an attempt to study the reasons for the complex relations between the Armenians who had been living in Czechoslovakia for many years and Hansa, who had been involved in Armenian issues.
Hansa lectured throughout Czechoslovakia for decades, published five books after his travels, but still remains unknown to the Czech public. This article aims to remedy the gaps in the literature and provide a more holistic view of Hansa's life and legacy for the reader.