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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
Czech HistoryJana Horáková-Kánský - still proud of mother's "enormous courage"
In Czechs in History this week, we speak to Jana Horáková-Kánský, daughter
of one of Czechoslovakia's best known victims of Communist-era oppression,
the democratic MP and wartime resistance hero Milada Horáková. Jana, Milada
Horáková's only child, was just a teenager when her mother was executed on
trumped up charges of treason and espionage in a 1950 show trial. Her
father - who was also targeted by the Communist regime - made a daring
escape from Czechoslovakia shortly afterwards, leaving Jana in the care of
relatives. For years she was denied the opportunity to study, finally
finding work as a dental technician. In 1968 she emigrated to the United
States, where she's lived ever since. 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
SpotlightThe inside story of the history of Prague’s Pankrác prison
Pankrác is a byword in the Czech Republic for the large prison that stands
a little way outside the centre of Prague. The prison has been the focus
for much of the worst and some of the best that has happened over the last
120 years. Appropriately, some mementos have been stored for posterity.
More
Current AffairsPrávo: former ‘People’s Prosecutor’ could be released as early as next year
The Czech daily Právo reported this week that a former Communist
prosecutor sent to prison for her role in the judicial murder of democratic
politician Milada Horáková in 1950 could be released next year. Ludmila
Brožová-Polednová, who at 88 is the country’s oldest prisoner, could
have her six-year sentence reduced by half.
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
Current AffairsPrague memorial to Milada Horáková sparks controversy
Nearly 60 years after the Czech politician Milada Horáková was
sentenced to death in a communist show trial and executed, the first
memorial to honour her legacy was unveiled in Prague on Wednesday. But the
new memorial has sparked controversy – some former political prisoners
complain that among those who contributed to the monument are members of
the party that had her murdered. More
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