Rudolf Slánský
Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a Czechoslovak Communist politician.[1] He was a longtime member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Later he was the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee (1945-1951). Slánský was one of the main organizers of the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état.[1] During World War II he was a member of Czechoslovak exile resistance in the foreign centre in Moscow. Slánský was executed on December 3, 1952 at Prague’s Pankrac Prison.[2]
Early years
[change | change source]Slánský was born on July 31, 1901 in Nezvěstice near Pilsen, Bohemia.[1] His father was a Jewish merchant.[3] He studied at a public academy in Plzeň. Slánský joined the Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1921, three years after it was formed.[3] In 1924 he was the editor of the Communist Party newspaper, Rude Pravo.[3] He rose in the ranks of the Party becoming a member of the Central Committee. He was in hiding from 1929 to 1935 because the Party was illegal in Czechoslovakia at the time.[3] He became a member of the National Assembly and a close associate of Klement Gottwald.
World War II
[change | change source]When the Munich Agreement was signed in 1938, Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland was taken over by Nazi Germany.[3] When the German army marched into the Sudetenland on October 1, 1938, Slánský fled. He went to the Soviet Union and stayed there during most of World War II.[4] He returned to Czechoslovakia in 1944 and took part in the Slovak National Uprising.[4]
Postwar
[change | change source]After the war, he was involved in politics. The Communist Party in Czechoslovakia agreed to accept many of Joseph Stalin's trained Czechs.[4] Slánský was made the Secretary-General of the Party in Czechoslovakia. By 1948, it was clear that Gottwald was following the Stalinist style of politics.
Arrest and trial
[change | change source]Slánský himself had been in charge of purges of several of his associates. When Gottwald thought he might be next, he had Slánský and 13 others arrested.[4] The charges against Slánský included treason, spying and sabotage.[4] Slánský finally confessed after being tortured. Then he had to memorize a speech for the show trial.[4] All of the 14 had confessed. Slánský was one of the 11 who was given a death sentence.[4] Twice Slánský attempted suicide while he was waiting for his execution.[4] Finally, on December 3, 1952, he was hanged at Pankrac Prison.[4]
After Stalin died in 1953, there were fewer purges. In April 1963, Slánský and his fellow victims were cleared of the charges against them.[4] In May, 1968, Slánský and the others were formally exonerated.[4]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Rudolf Salzmann Slánský Facts". Your Dictionary. LoveToKnow, Corp. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
- ↑ "1952: Rudolf Slansky and 10 "conspirators"". ExecutedToday.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Tracy A. Burns. "Rudolf Slansky and the Slansky Trial". Private Prague Guide. Custom Travel Services s.r.o. (Ltd). Retrieved January 15, 2017.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 "Rudolf Slansky". Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd. Retrieved January 15, 2017.