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From the ArchivesMilada Horáková: dignity in the face of fanaticism
Many people in Czechoslovakia greeted the communist coup of February 1948
with enthusiasm, in the belief that the horrors of the war should never be
allowed to happen again. But following the model of Stalin’s Soviet
Union, it was not long before a period of political terror began, with
thousands of arrests and then a series of political show trials. The most
horrific symbol of the period was the trial and execution of Milada
Horáková. She had been one of the most enlightened politicians of the
pre-war Czechoslovak Republic, a champion of democracy and women’s
rights, and had spent most of the war in Nazi prisons and concentration
camps. More
Current AffairsFormer show-trial prosecutor freed by presidential pardon
The Czech Republic’s oldest prisoner, Ludmila Brožová-Polednová,
received a full pardon from President Václav Klaus on Tuesday and was
promptly released from prison, bringing a definitive end to one of the most
controversial justice cases in the post-revolution Czech Republic. The
89-year-old communist era prosecutor ultimately served one year and seven
months of a six-year sentence for her part in the 1950 state execution of
democratic politician Milada Horáková, and remained defiant even as she
left the prison gates. More
Current AffairsFormer communist prosecutor, jailed for judicial murder, may soon walk free
Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, a former communist prosecutor who is serving
a six year prison sentence for her role in helping to send democratic
politician Milada Horáková to the gallows in a notorious 1950s show
trial, may soon be released. It has now come to light that three
presidential amnesties apply to her case, each lowering her sentence by two
years.
More
Czechs in HistoryRudolf Slánský: architect of Communist takeover and purge victim
Czechoslovak top Communist Rudolf Slánský is a tragic figure of 20th
century history in the classical sense of the word. In the end the fate of
the once powerful and self made man was mapped out elsewhere as he became a
victim of the state security system he helped create.
More
Letter from PragueWatching the H-Trial
Never having been inside a courtroom or seen a real court case in action it
was something of a shock to find myself watching the most notorious show
trial of the communist era – the “H Trial” that sent democratic
politician Milada Horáková and two others to the gallows in 1950. More
Current AffairsRemembering General Heliodor Píka, first victim of the communist show trials
In the early morning of June 21, 1949, General Heliodor Píka, a hero of
World Wars I and II, became the first Czechoslovak to be executed by the
new communist regime. Today, almost 60 years to the date, the Czech
Republic honoured the memory of one of the greatest of heroes and most
profound of victims. More
Current AffairsFormer "people's prosecutor" enters prison for 1950 judicial murder
An 87-year-old former “people’s prosecutor” has entered prison to
begin a six-year sentence for her role in one of the most notorious
Communist show-trials of the 1950s, in which democratic politician Milada
Horáková was sent to the gallows on trumped up charges. Ludmila
Brožová-Polednová voluntarily entered prison on Thursday evening, and
will now undergo medical tests to ascertain whether she is fit to serve her
sentence.
More
Current AffairsDocument sheds new light on Jan Palach’s suicide forty years on
It is 40 years ago this Friday that student Jan Palach set himself alight
following the Soviet-led invasion of 1968. Palach’s suicide turned him
into a symbol of national resistance, and to this day, Czechs and Slovaks
remember what he did for his country. On the eve of this 40th anniversary,
historians have just discovered a document which sheds new light upon his
actions.
More
From the ArchivesMilada Horáková: dignity in the face of fanaticism
Many people in Czechoslovakia greeted the communist coup of February 1948
with enthusiasm, in the belief that the horrors of the war should never be
allowed to happen again. But following the model of Stalin’s Soviet
Union, it was not long before a period of political terror began, with
thousands of arrests and then a series of political show trials. The most
horrific symbol of the period was the trial and execution of Milada
Horáková. She had been one of the most enlightened politicians of the
pre-war Czechoslovak Republic, a champion of democracy and women’s
rights, and had spent most of the war in Nazi prisons and concentration
camps.
More
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