The lawsuits of Prague, which took place in 1952, aimed to eliminate oneself-saying them adverse to the Communist regime, they are the Czechoslovakian slope of the Grandes Stalinist Purgings.

Cause

In 1951, the president of the Republic and PCT, Klement Gottwald are confronted with serious difficulties: initially, a strong popular discontent against the shortages with all kinds, in particular food, and the absence of freedom, then, a subjacent competition with Rudolf Slansky, general secretary of the PCT, finally, a pressure of Stalin, which sees spies everywhere and who requires that the PCT proceed to the same purgings as those which have course in Soviet Union and in the other Eastern European countries. The goal is to avoid a Yugoslav contagion.

As in the Plot of the white blouses which aims primarily Juif S and which is concomitant with the Lawsuits of Prague, 11 of the 14 marked ones Jewish and are shown of a " plot titoïste ".

Implementation

By organizing a purging itself, in the purest Stalinist style, which decapitates the direction of the Party, Gottwald pursues several goals at the same time: it débarasse itself of a dangerous rival, that Stalin could have used against him; the Jewish origin of 11 of the 14 accused makes it possible to find scapegoats easy to denounce (plot Zionist by Jewish traffickers) in a country with the latent anti-semitism; moreover, Gottwald is caught some with old Guerre of Spain, suspected of Trotskysme. Those, generally, had taken an active part in resistance anti-Nazi, whereas itself was taken refuge in Moscow, which could sully its revolutionary legitimacy. A new generation of Communist militants, which will owe him all, arrives at the orders of the Party. Lastly, it is justified with respect to Stalin by showing that it can strike on very high levels and nobody saves: all condemned are members of the Central committee, to see of Politburo, the PCT.

The victims of this purging were:

  • Rudolf Slánský, General secretary of the Czechoslovakian Communist party (carried out)

  • Vladimir Clementis, Foreign Minister, (carried out)
  • Otto Fischl, Minister for Finance (carried out)
  • Josef Frank, general Vice-secretary of the Czechoslovakian Communist party, (carried out)
  • Ludvik Frejka, chief of the committee of the economy to the chancellery of the president (carried out)
  • Bednch Geminder, international section head of the secretariat of the party (carried out)
  • Vavro Hajdu, vice-minister of the foreign affairs, (life imprisonment)
  • Evzen Lobl, vice-minister with the foreign affairs (life imprisonment)
  • Artur London, vice-minister of the foreign affairs, (life imprisonment)
  • Rudolf Margolius, vice-minister of the foreign affairs (carried out)
  • Bednch Reicin, vice-minister with national defense, (carried out)
  • Andre Simone, person in charge of the Hard newspaper Pravo (carried out)
  • Otto Sling, regional Secretary of the Communist party (carried out)
  • Karel Svab, vice-minister of the safety of state (carried out)

Gottwald will survive very little of time its victims, offered in holocaust to Stalin: indeed, following this lawsuit, it sank in alcoholism and will die of a pneumonia contracted at the time of the funeral of the Petit Father of the People in March 1953, that is to say one quarter after the executions of condemned Lawsuits of Prague.

Consequences

Czechoslovakia will return during one time of Stagnation which will last until the Printemps of Prague, in 1968 during which the company and the economy will solidify completely: industry will know a fast decline. This situation will be exposed by the team Dubček when it arrives at the capacity. The personality which will incarnate this period is Antonín Novotný, general secretary of the PCT of 1953 to 1968 and President of the Republic of 1957 to 1968. Fidel Castro will say of him that it was “about a clinical case of mediocrity”. This analysis summarizes this time perfectly.

Film

The lawsuits of Prague are with the source of the Consent of Costa-Gavras with Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. The film is based on the book éponyme Artur London, one of the rare survivors of the lawsuits.

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