Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a leading Czech Communist

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Holding the post of the party's

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. After the split between

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, the latter instigated a wave of "purges" of the respective Communist Party leaderships, to prevent more splits between the Soviet Union and its

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

an "

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

" countries. In Czechoslovakia, Slánský was one of 14 leaders arrested in 1951, tortured into confessing their "crimes", and put on

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

''en masse'' in November 1952, charged with high treason. After eight days, 11 of the 14 were convicted and sentenced to death. Slánský was executed five days later.

Early life

Born at Nezvěstice, now in Plzeň-City District. Slánský's family was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and conservative. He attended secondary school in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

at the Commercial Academy. After the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he went to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, the capital, where he discovered a leftist intellectual scene in institutions such as the Marxist Club. In 1921, Slánský joined the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...

when it broke away from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He rose within the party and became a senior lieutenant of its leader,

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman f ...

. At the Fifth Party Congress in 1929, Slánský was named a member of the party Presidium and the Politburo, and Gottwald became General Secretary. From 1929 to 1935, Slánský lived in hiding due to the illegal status of the Communist Party. In 1935, after the party was allowed to participate in politics, both he and Gottwald were elected to the National Assembly. Their gains were halted, however, when Czechoslovakia was carved up at the

Munich Conference The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

in 1938. After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

occupied the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

in October 1938, Slánský, along with much of the rest of the Czechoslovak communist leadership, fled to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Slánský worked on broadcasts to Czechoslovakia over

Radio Moscow Radio Moscow (), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993, when it was reorganized into Voice of Russia, which was subsequently reorga ...

. He lived through the defense of Moscow against the Germans during the winter of 1941–42. His experience in Moscow brought him into contact with Soviet Communists and the often brutal methods they favored for maintaining party discipline. In 1943 in Moscow, Slánský's infant daughter, Naďa (Nadia), was forcibly abducted from her baby carriage by a woman. The infant was in the company of her eight-year-old brother, Rudolf, who put up resistance. The woman revealed details about their mother, Mrs. Slánská, including her job with Radio Moscow. Neither Nadia nor the perpetrators were ever found. In her 1969 memoir, Josefa Slánská, Slánský's widow, recounted that written inquiries were made to the police and to Stalin himself, all of which went unanswered. While in exile in the Soviet Union, Slánský also organized Czechoslovak army units. He returned with them to Czechoslovakia in 1944 to participate in the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

Power in the postwar period

In 1945, after

, Slánský and other Czechoslovak leaders returned from exile in London and Moscow, holding meetings to organize the new National Front government under

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 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

. At the 8th Party Congress of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party in March 1946, Slánský was chosen as

of the Communist Party. He was the number two man in the party behind party chairman Gottwald, who became leader of a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

after elections held that year. In 1948, after the Communist Party seized power in the February coup, Slánský became the second most powerful man in the country after Gottwald. At that point Slánský was blamed for economic and industrial troubles, costing him popular support. But he was also awarded the Order of Socialism, a top decoration, on 30 July 1951. Publication was planned for a book of his speeches in support of socialism, to be titled ''Towards the Victory of Socialism''.

Trial

In 1951, after

of Yugoslavia broke with him, Stalin decided to "purge" the Communist parties of the satellite countries of the Soviet Union in order to deter any further revolts against his rule. Most historians think that, fearing arrest and death, President Gottwald of Czechoslovakia decided to sacrifice his best friend, Rudolf Slánský, in order to save himself. On November 24, 1951, at 1 a.m. Slánský was arrested and imprisoned. During the following year he was tortured into confessing his "crimes". Bedřich Geminder and Jarmila Taussigová were also arrested the same day. Official

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

rhetoric had turned against

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. Stalin was intent on keeping power in the Eastern bloc countries. Party rhetoric asserted that Slánský was spying as part of an international western capitalist conspiracy to undermine socialism and that punishing him would avenge the Nazi murders of Czech communists

Jan Šverma Jan Šverma (23 March 1901, Mnichovo Hradiště – 10 November 1944, Mt. Chabenec, Low Tatras) was a Czechs, Czech journalist, communist activist and resistance fighter against the Nazi Germany, Nazi-backed Slovak State. Šverma was considered a ...

and Julius Fučík during World War II. Rudolf Slansky 1901 1952

Some historians say that Stalin desired complete obedience from leaders of the so-called "People's Democracies" (that is, Eastern bloc countries), as well as at home. He threatened to conduct "purges" of the "nationalistic communists". Other historians, though, say that the rivalry between Slánský and Gottwald escalated after the 1948 coup. Slánský began consolidating his power within the party secretariat and placing more of his party supporters in governmental positions, encroaching on Gottwald's position as president after the resignation of Beneš. Stalin backed Gottwald because he was believed to have a better chance of building up the Czechoslovak economy into a position where it could start producing useful goods for the Soviet Union. Slánský was thought to be weakened by his image as a "

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

" figure. Gottwald and his ally

Antonín Zápotocký Antonín Zápotocký (; 19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech communist politician and statesman in Czechoslovakia. He served as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953, and then as President of Czechoslovakia from 1 ...

, both populists, tarred Slánský with charges of belonging to the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

. Slánský and his allies were also opposed by old-time party members, the government, and the party's Political Bureau. In prison after his arrest, Slánský was tortured and he attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. The trial of the 14 national leaders began on 20 November 1952, in the Senate of the State Court, with the prosecutor being Josef Urválek. It lasted eight days. As in the Moscow show trials of the late 1930s, the defendants admitted guilt in court and requested a death sentence. Slánský was found guilty of "

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

ite-

Titoist Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activities in the service of American imperialism." He was publicly hanged at Pankrác Prison on 3 December 1952. His body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered on an icy road outside of Prague.

Posthumously

Reflecting changes in Czechoslovakia, in April 1963 Slánský and other victims of the purge trials were cleared under the penal code. They were fully rehabilitated and exonerated in May 1968. After the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

of 1989, the new president

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, appointed Slánský's son, also named Rudolf, as the Czech ambassador to the Soviet Union.Stokes, Gale. ''From Stalinism to Pluralism: A Documentary History of Eastern Europe Since 1945''. 1996, page 66. Slánský was the most powerful politician to be executed during the rule of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia and under the influence of Stalinism. Afterwards the treatment of leaders who had fallen out of favour with the government was more moderate; they were stripped of power and ordered to retire.

Notes

References

* * *Lukes, Igor. 1999
The Rudolf Slansky Affair: New Evidence
''

Slavic Review The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with "Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, past and present". ...