Milena Jesenská

Czech journalist who defied Nazis through underground resistance networks

Milena Jesenská (1896-1944), the trailblazing Czech journalist, created one of WWII's most effective underground networks while secretly Jewish. As editor of Přítomnost magazine, she used cultural criticism to subtly oppose fascism until Nazi occupation forced her into covert resistance.

Her Váha (Weight) group smuggled hundreds to safety through elaborate routes across Protectorate borders. Jesenská pioneered early data journalism by compiling statistical reports about Nazi plunder that reached Allied governments. Arrested in 1940, she continued organizing from Ravensbrück concentration camp using coded messages in laundry.

Jesenská's feminist writings predated Simone de Beauvoir by decades, arguing that 'true revolution begins in nursery schools.' Her 1920s articles about social housing and addiction treatment remain models for engaged journalism.