Kdo je Jára Cimrman?

For those of you who can't read the question, which to be honest is probably most of us, it says, "Who is Jára Cimrman?"  Good question.  Well I'll tell you.  Jára Cimrman (that dash over the "a" just turns it into a long vowel, which means you just hold it out slightly longer than a normal "a") was the greatest Czech who ever lived.  He nearly invented the light bulb, almost discovered the north pole, came so close to discovering the source of the Nile, and even taught the Theory of Relativity to Einstein, but history has largely ignored this fascinating renassaince man of Central Europe.  Why?  Was it perhaps because he simply challenged the authorities too much?  Because he was too great for history to bear?  Because the meek will always ban together to push back the great ones who rise from amongst the faceless mass?  Or is it because he is simply the fictional invention of several Czech actors during the Communist era? 

Keyword here: Sarcasm.  Yes, Cimrman (pronounced just like the German name, "Zimmerman," English "Tsimmerman") never really existed.  Instead, several leading Czech actors shortly before Prague Spring 1968 created a fictional character who they thought embodied the Czech people.  After the Warsaw Pact invasion of Prague and the reinstallation of a hardline Communist regime, Cimrman gained enormous popularity.  He was a man who had literally done everything, gone everywhere, and met just about every great face of the mid-19th and early-20th century...almost.  He WOULD have invented the light bulb, but showed up to the patent office five minutes late.  He WOULD have planted the Czech flag at the North Pole, but was driven off by angry natives.  HE taught Einstein the Theory of Relativity, but Einstein took all the credit and never acknowledged his great tutor.  As might well be expected, there is an enormous amount of humor involved in everything Cimrman and most of the time Czechs will be laughing almost to tears at a performance of a good Cimrman play. 

Because the Czechoslovakian Communist government was trying to promote national pride, they could not ban anything conisdered part of Czech or Slovak national history, so when Jiří Šebánek and Zdeněk Svěrák claimed they had found a literal treasure trove of literature from a relatively unknown Czech playright, the government was all too eager to see the plays performed.  In the plays, through the smoke and mirrors of humor and sarcasm, the actors poked fun not only at Czech culture and history, but also at the Communist government, Moscow, and basically absurdity wherever they found it.  Czech humor is very highly sophisticated and is actually the Czechs' most effective tool of defense: they pretend to be incredibly stupid, clumsy, and incompetent so that others will regard them as not being a threat and leave them alone.  In actuality, the Czechs are extremely aware of what's going on around them, very entrepeneuring (although 50 years of Communism has somewhat dampered that), and extremely crafty.  Before Cimrman the protoype of the Czech people would probably have to have been the good soldier Švejk, read his adventures if you ever get the chance.

Cimrman became a huge underground success, and in Czech culture, which is basically always underground whenever a foreign presence is felt, that meant it was a huge success.  In fact, in 2005, when a contest was announced to determine the greatest Czech of all time, instead of choosing someone like Charles IV, Bedřich Smětana, Antonín Dvořák, Božena Němcová, Karel Čapek, Tomáš Masaryk, or Jan Hus, Jára Cimrman was voted the greatest Czech who had ever lived!  He was eventually disqualified because he never actually existed, but many people actually protested this decision and argued further that Jára Cimrman deserved the title!

For me as an American, even one who can understand Czech (but not NEARLY enough to understand even 10% of the humor in a Cimrman play), I will never be able to fully appreciate Cimrman the way the Czechs do.  For him, he is a representation of their entire history all rolled up into one person, even if that persona is fictional.  The Czechs were always there, being one of the most important and loyal provinces of the Hapsburg Empire, they helped start the Protestant Reformation long before Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door of the catherdral, many of the greatest minds in art and science resided or were born in Czech lands (Kafka, Freud, Mozart all either were born in or lived at some point in Czech lands, and good king Wenceslas's real name was Václav, who was a Czech king), Bohemia was one of the most industrially advanced regions of Europe for much of the early part of the 20th century and during the Cold War serviced almost all of the Warsaw Pact's armor and weapons needs.  Basically, the Czechs were always involved in great things and movements, but they almost never received credit or recognition for what they accomplisehd; just like Cimrman.  Someone always held the patent on that darn lightbulb, or someone was always just five mintues ahead of them. 

In essence, Cimrman is the embodiement of that quiet, shy kid who always helps others do great things, but never manages to accomplish them himself.  He's like Peter O'Toole, who should've won an Oscar countless times, but every time there was simply a better movie that year.  But more importantly, Cimrman is the person who, despite all of these setbacks which would have disheartened anyone else, keeps going and always trys new things.  Just like the Czechs.  Even being doggedly pursued by almost constant failure and lack of recognition, he keeps on going, because sometimes just the adventure itself is all the recognition one needs to be satisfied.