EN
Hubert Ripka (1895-1958) ranked among the most active democratically oriented journalists in the First Czechoslovak Republic. Follower of President T. G. Masaryk and close collaborator of Foreign Minister and later President Edvard Benes, he wrote for a wide range of democratic periodicals in support of the 'Castle Group' policy. He advocated the democratic principles and the international orientation of Czechoslovakia, seeking as much support as possible for the Little Entente alliance, particularly in connection with the growing threat from Nazi Germany. Of great importance were Ripka's personal contacts with German 'neo-activists' in the CSR, with opposition circles in Nazi Germany, as well as with French and British opponents of the appeasement policy. He strongly opposed the Munich Agreement; therefore, he left the country in October 1938 to join the Czechoslovak resistance movement abroad.