Documenting the people executed on political grounds in the years 1948−1989

Without doubt, executions of political opponents are one of the worst and most disgusting forms of terror in the broad repertoire of persecution used by totalitarian regimes to seize and maintain power. In Czechoslovakia, such killings took place soon after the communist takeover of February 1948. The intention behind them was to strengthen the position of the Communist Party by directly liquidating both real and potential opponents of the new regime, and by creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, which is necessary for the long-term survival of every dictatorship. It is not by chance that the highest number of death penalties after February 1948 were imposed and executed during the reign of President Klement Gottwald, when communist totalitarian power was being established, and that the number of people sentenced to death decreased in subsequent years.[1]

The communist authorities prepared and conducted judicial trials using a number of methods whose willfulness and brutality were unprecedented in Czechoslovakia, with the exception of the wartime Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945).[2] Initially, communist justice was formally based on laws from the time of the first Czechoslovak Republic, e.g., Act No. 50/1923 of the Collection of Laws (Coll.), on the protection of the republic. Nevertheless, the application of this legislation was completely subordinate to the new conditions that prevailed in the country. New laws came into effect a little later, e.g. Act No. 231/48 Coll. on the protection of the People’s Democratic Republic or Penal Act No. 86/1950 Coll. This legislation was tailored to the real situation of that period. It was Act No. 231/48 Coll. that contained the infamous Article 48, which facilitated the confiscation of all property belonging to those convicted.[3]

The question arises as to how many politically motivated executions[4] were really carried out in Czechoslovakia in the years 1948-1989. It should be noted that the list of victims is not yet definitive even though no great changes are envisaged. Moreover, the final form of this list has been affected by the method of selection. In some cases, it is rather difficult to separate offences of a criminal nature from those of a political character. An ethical problem arises in relation to executed communist functionaries who actively participated in establishing the rule of terror and who bear direct responsibility for the death of many murdered people, even though they themselves eventually fell victim to the same terror. It is also necessary to mention people who were convicted in resumed retribution trials and who most likely would not have been executed if the communists had not seized power and reopened these proceedings. These people, however, were sentenced for offences committed during World War II.

It is not surprising that data on the number of people executed on political grounds varies considerably. We may see numbers like 248[5] or 262 or 227,[6] with all these lists comprising the names of both those who were found guilty of entirely fabricated offences and those who were convicted on charges of real anti-communist resistance. Distinguishing between the two groups is rather complicated, with the judgments most frequently citing the crimes of high treason, military treason, espionage, sabotage, incitement to murder, attempted murder, etc.[7] Vladivoj Tomek, who was killed at Prague’s Pankrác Prison on 17 November 1960, is most often considered to be the last person executed in Czechoslovakia on political charges.

Our task is to document the fates of those executed by publishing their brief life stories and collecting relevant archive materials, while selecting pertinent literature and sources of information. Even though there is a large number of works dealing with or at least touching on this subject, a summary documentation project such as this one has been lacking up to now.[8] We intend to remedy this shortcoming in the foreseeable future. The form we have chosen for this purpose, i.e. publishing the life stories of those executed with selected archive documents, corresponds to our objective of acquainting the general public with the horrifying nature of communist totalitarianism. This cannot be adequately expressed with just lists and statistical data. Only the human stories of individuals can overcome the “anonymity” of the victims and set us thinking. They may also prevent us from ever forgetting what happened.

Mgr. Petr Mallota

Life Stories of the Executed

Lists of people executed on political grounds

Source: www.policie.cz - Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV) of the Criminal Police and Investigation Service (SKPV)

Selected literature and documents on people executed on political charges in 1948–1989:

  • BABKA, Lukáš – VEBER, Václav (eds.): Za svobodu a demokracii III.: Třetí (protikomunistický) odboj [For Freedom and Democracy III.: The Third (Anti-communist) Resistance]. Hradec Králové, 2002.
  • BRET, Jan: 22 oprátek [22 Nooses]. Ministry of National Defense, Prague, 1999.
  • BŘACH, Radko (ed.): Destrukce československého důstojnického sboru po únoru 1948 [The Destruction of the Czechoslovak Officer Corps after February 1948]. Historical Institute of the Army of the Czech Republic, Prague, 2003.
  • CUHRA, Jaroslav – VEBER, Václav (eds.): Za svobodu a demokracii I.: Odpor proti komunistické moci [For Freedom and Democracy I.: Resistance to Communist Power]. Prague, 1999.
  • DENGLER, Robert (ed.): O procesech a rehabilitacích: Zpráva „Pillerovy komise“ o politických procesech a rehabilitacích v Československu v letech 1949 až 1968 [On Trials and Rehabilitations: The Report of the “Piller Commission” on Political Trials and Rehabilitations in Czechoslovakia in the Years 1949 to 1968 ]. Florenc, Prague 1990.
  • DVOŘÁKOVÁ, Zora: Z letopisů třetího odboje [From the Annals of the Third Resistance]. Hříbal, Prague, 1992.
  • DVOŘÁKOVÁ, Zora: Navzdory nenávisti a mstě: Z politických procesů 1952 až 1953 [In Defiance of Hatred and Revenge: From Political Trials 1952 to 1953]. Tempo, Třebíč, 2002.
  • GEBAUER, F. – KAPLAN, K. – KOUDELKA, F. – VYHNÁLEK, R. (eds.): Soudní perzekuce politické povahy v Československu 1948-1989: Statistický přehled [Judicial Persecution of a Political Nature in Czechoslovakia 1948-1989: A Statistical Survey]. Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 1993.
  • KAPLAN, Karel (ed.): Zemřelí ve věznicích a tresty smrti 1948-1956: Seznamy [The Deceased in Prisons and Death Sentences]. Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 1992.
  • KAPLAN, Karel: K politickým procesům v Československu 1948-1954: Dokumentace komise ÚV KSČ pro rehabilitaci 1968 [On Political Trials in Czechoslovakia 1948-1954: Documentation of the Czechoslovak Communist Party Central Committee Commission for Rehabilitation 1968]. Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 1994.
  • KAPLAN, Karel – PALEČEK, Pavel: Komunistický režim a politické procesy v Československu [Communist Regime and Political Trials in Czechoslovakia]. Barrister & Principal, Brno, 2001.
  • KRATOCHVÍL, Antonín: Žaluji. I. díl: Stalinská justice v Československu [I Accuse. Volume I: Stalinist Justice in Czechoslovakia]. Dolmen, Prague, 1990.
  • KRATOCHVÍL, Antonín: Žaluji. II. díl: Vrátit slovo umlčeným [I Accuse. Volume II: Let the Silenced Speak]. Dolmen, Prague, 1990
  • KRATOCHVÍL, Antonín: Žaluji. III. díl: Cesta k Sionu [I Accuse. Volume III: Journey to Zion]. Dolmen, Prague, 1990.
  • LEŠANOVSKÝ, Karel: Se štítem a na štítě: Nezradili skautský slib [With the Shield and upon the Shield: They Did Not Betray the Scout’s Oath]. Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), Prague, 1999.
  • LIŠKA, Otakar et al.: Vykonané tresty smrti: Československo 1918-1989 [Executed Death Penalties: Czechoslovakia 1918-1989].Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), Prague, 2000.
  • LIŠKA, Otakar et al.: Tresty smrti vykonané v Československu v letech 1918-1989 [Death Penalties Executed in Czechoslovakia in 1918-1989].Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), Prague, 2006.
  • PALEČEK, Pavel: Likvidace obětí nacismu a komunismu na území Československa [The Liquidation of the Victims of Nazism and Communism in Czechoslovakia] Prius, Brno, 2002.
  • PEKÁRKOVÁ, Kateřina: Čestné pohřebiště popravených a umučených politických vězňů v Praze-Ďáblicích [The Burial Place of Honour for Executed Political Prisoners and Those Tortured to Death in Prague – Ďáblice]. In: ČELKO, Vojtěch (ed.): Kamenná paměť mého kraje [My Country’s Memory of Stone]. Prague, 2004.
  • PIETA [Reverence]. In memory of our brothers and sisters executed, tortured to death and shot dead during the period of communist terror. Journal of the Confederation of Political Prisoners, Prague, 1993.
  • PŘÍBĚHY BEZPRÁVÍ. Z vězeňských spisů. [STORIES OF INJUSTICE. From prison files]. A project implemented by the Člověk v tísni (People in Need) humanitarian organization. Prague, 2007.
  • RADOSTA, Petr: Protikomunistický odboj. Historický nástin [Anti-communist Resistance. A Historical Survey]. Egem, Prague, 1993.
  • VALIŠ Zdeněk (ed.): Vojenské osoby odsouzené Státním soudem Praha, Brno, Bratislava v letech 1948-1952 [Military Personnel Condemned by the State Court in Prague, Brno and Bratislava in the Years 1948-1952]. H & H, Prague, 1992.
  • VOREL, J. – ŠIMÁNKOVÁ, A. – BABKA, L. et al.: Československá justice v letech 1948-1953 v dokumentech [Czechoslovak Justice in the Years 1948-1953 in Documents], Volume I.-III. Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), Prague, 2003-2004.

[1] LIŠKA, Otakar. et al.: Vykonané tresty smrti: Československo 1918-1989 [Executed Death Penalties: Czechoslovakia 1918-1989]. Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), Prague, 2000, p. 153. A total of 189, 47 and 12 people were executed during the reigns of presidents Klement Gottwald, Antonín Zápotocký and Antonín Novotný, respectively.

[2] At the time, the judiciary became a subservient instrument of the Communist Party and lost all its independence. In October 1948, the State Court and the State Prosecutor’s Office were established as new institutions to become a major driving force in meting out persecution and terror. When they were abolished at the end of 1952, their role was assumed by regional courts and regional prosecutor’s offices. Some cases were also decided by higher military courts and higher military prosecutor’s offices. From 1 January 1953 to 31 December 1956, major political offences were decided by the Supreme Court, as the court of first instance.

In this context, it should be noted that it was not just human, legal and democratic principles that were violated in the first years of communist rule, but that the laws in effect at the time were also consistently flouted.

[3] This meant that surviving relatives and family dependants were plunged into poverty. The confiscated property (including apartments) was most often transferred to communist functionaries or StB (State Security) members after they had satisfied certain formalities.

[4] It should be noted that hanging was the means by which death penalties were carried out. This caused the convicts to endure several long minutes of suffering, as they did not die as a result of their necks being broken, but were actually strangled.

[5] LIŠKA, Otakar. et al.: Vykonané tresty smrti. Československo 1918-1989 [Executed Death Penalties. Czechoslovakia 1918-1989]. Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), Prague, 2000.

[6] RÁZEK, Adolf: Seznamy popravených: Vykonané tresty smrti z politických důvodů od 25. 2. 1948 do 29. 12. 1989 [Lists of the Executed: Executed Death Penalties on Political Charges from 25 February 1948 to 29 December 1989]. Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (ÚDV) [online], 14 November 2005 [cit. 30 June 2008].

The number of 227 victims does not include high-ranking communist functionaries (13 people) or people sentenced to death in resumed retributive trials (22 people).

[7] Most victims were rehabilitated on the basis of Act No.119/1990 Coll.

[8] E.g. “Pieta” [Reverence] issued by the Confederation of Political Prisoners, or lists of executed people compiled by the Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism.