Munich, March 3 (CTK) – Writer and journalist Ota Filip, a protagonist of Czech exile literature who lived in Germany from the 1970s, died in Bavaria on Friday, shortly before his 88th birthday, the German press agency dpa reported on Saturday, referring to Filip daughter’s information to the authorities.
Born in Ostrava, north Moravia, Filip moved to then West Germany in 1974 and acquired German citizenship three years later.
He lived in Murnau, Upper Bavaria, and was a member of the Bavarian academy of sciences and arts.
After World War Two, Filip lived in Prague. In the 1950s, he was recruited as a member of the auxiliary technical battalions (PTP), the military units designated for politically unreliable people. He got involved in recruits’ plan to escape, which he eventually reported to the command, however. He always claimed responsibility for his failure, which he never tried to shake off.
In 1968-1969, Filip was an editor in the Ostrava-seated Profil publisher’s house. In 1970, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail for undermining the communist regime. After leaving the prison, he earned his living by manual work.
Later he was accused of having voluntarily nodded to cooperating with the StB communist secret police, which he dismissed.
Filip promoted reconciliation between the Czechs and Sudeten Germans and commented on various social issues. In 2015, for example, he joined a scientists and intellectuals’ appeal in support of solidarity with refugees, dpa writes.
