Bedřich Reicin was a Czechoslovak

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 army officer and politician.

Reicin was born into a poor Jewish family (his birth name was Reinzinger, sometimes written as Reicinger). He first studied at a gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

, and later at a business college from which he was expelled after discovery of his activism for the communist party

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....

. In the 1930s, Reicin became a functionary of a communist youth organization and contributor of the party newspaper Rudé Právo

Rudé právo

Rudé právo was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia....

. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in 1939, he was imprisoned by the Gestapo

Gestapo

The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...

. He was released after seven months and, in 1940, he managed to flee into the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. There he worked as a radio propagandist. After the attack by Germany on Soviet Union, he was interned (as were many people having Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...

 citizenship). In February 1942, he joined the newly formed First Czechoslovak Army Corps

First Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion

The First Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion was a Czechoslovak government-in-exile military organization in World War II fighting alongside the Red Army on the East Front, notably in the battle of Sokolovo...

 and soon became a propaganda officer there. In 1945, Reicin was named the head of the counter-intelligence service of the Corps, a role he reprised after the war. Between 1948 and 1951, Reicin served as the Deputy Minister of Defense, responsible for army personnel management. In 1948, he obtained the rank of brigade general (brigádní general), and in 1950 the rank of division general (divizní generál).

During and after the war, Reicin always promoted interests of the communist party in the army. After February 1948, he organized mass purges of officers who were felt to not be loyal enough to the new regime (including flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 František Peřina

František Perina

Wing Commander General František Peřina was a Czech fighter pilot, an ace during World War II with the French Armee de l'Air, who also served twice with Britain's Royal Air Force.-Biography:...

). His behind-the-scene work made him very powerful in the military and political hierarchy. Alexej Čepička

Alexej Cepicka

General Alexej Čepička was a Czechoslovak communist politician.-Early years:Čepička was born into a poor family. He studied law in Prague, and at the age of 19 joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia but was not very politically active. Later, he worked in advocacy...

, who had been the Minister of Defense since 1950, felt threatened by Reicin and conspired against him. In February 1951, Reicin and many of his coworkers were imprisoned. Reicin was selected for participation in the Slánský Trial, and for year and half was prepared and tortured to fit the role. One of the accusations was handing Julius Fučík (a communist journalist) over to the Gestapo, a technical impossibility since Reicin was already in the Soviet Union at this time. At the Slánský Trial, Reicin and ten others were sentenced to death and hanged at Pankrác Prison

Pankrác Prison

Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison , is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic...

.

External links

• Very short biography (in Czech)
• More detailed biography (PDF, HTML version, in Czech)
• Military intelligence in Czechoslovakia 1945-48 (covers role of Reicin)