Kamil Krofta (17 July 1876 – 16 August 1945) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and diplomat.Honajzer George (1995). ''Vznik a rozpad vládních koalic v Československu v letech 1918-1938.'' stablishment and dissolution of government coalitions in Czechoslovakia in the years 1918-1938.Prague: Orbis.

Life and career

Born and schooled in Plzeň, he studied history in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

starting in 1894, then from 1896 to 1899 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From 1901 he worked at the National Archives. Beginning in 1911, he was a professor of Austrian (and later, Czech) history at Charles University, following the Jaroslav Goll school of thought. In his research, he focused on the late medieval and early Czech history, especially that of the peasantry as well as the church. In 1920, he became the first Czechoslovak envoy to The Vatican and was instrumental in the mutual recognition of both states. From 1922 until 1925, he resided as envoy in Vienna and lectured at the

Comenius University Comenius University in Bratislava ( sk, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is name ...

in Bratislava. From 1925 to 1927 he was the Czechoslovak envoy in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. After returning to Prague, he headed the Presidium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Krofta was a key foreign policy advisor to

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 194 ...

who headed the Ministry until he became President of Czechoslovakia in 1935. Krofta served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

from 29 February 1936 until 4 October 1938.Staff report (May 29, 1936). Krofta Upholds League. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' He succeeded

Milan Hodža Milan Hodža (1 February 1878 – 27 June 1944) was a Slovak politician and journalist, serving from 1935 to 1938 as the prime minister of Czechoslovakia. As a proponent of regional integration, he was known for his attempts to establish a demo ...

.Vadnay, Emil (October 5, 1938). SLOVAKS' DEMANDS SHAKE UP CABINET; Czechs Give More Posts to Settle Differences With National Group TWO GENERALS ARE ADDED Shift Is Expected to Help in Effecting an Accord With Germany Slovak Minister Quits Slovak Legion in Vienna. ''

'' Krofta became an active participant in the resistance during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

through the National Revolution Preparatory Assembly (''Přípravný národní Revoluční výbor''). In 1944, was he arrested and initially held at

Pankrác Prison Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison (''Vazební věznice Praha Pankrác'' in Czech), is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic. A part of the Czech Prison Service, it is located southeast of Prague city centre in Pankrác, not ...

. He was later moved to the Small Fortress in

Terezín Terezín (; german: Theresienstadt) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town ...

and remained incarcerated until the camp was liberated in May 1945. He died in

a few months later as a result of the abuse and neglect during imprisonment. He was awarded

Order of Saint Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...

Selected publications

* ''Kurie a církevní správa zemí českých v době předhusitské'' * ''Řím a Čechy před hnutím husitským'' * ''Historia Fratrum a Rozmlouvání starého Čecha s mladým rytířem'' * ''Listy z náboženských dějin českých'' * ''Bílá hora'' * ''Přehled dějin selského stavu v Čechách a na Moravě'' * ''Čtení o ústavních dějinách slovenských'' * ''Čechové a Slováci před svým státním sjednocením'' * ''Žižka a husitská revoluce'' * ''Z dob naší první republiky'' * ''Nesmrtelný národ'' * ''Malé dějiny československé''

References

External links

Kamil Krofta
via Open Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krofta, Kamil 1876 births 1945 deaths Writers from Plzeň People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Politicians from Plzeň Czech Freemasons Foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia Government ministers of Czechoslovakia Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to Germany Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to Austria Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to the Holy See Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Czech resistance members Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps