Josef Frank (politician)
Encyclopedia
Josef Frank was a Czechoslovakian Communist politician
.
Between 1939 and 1945 he was imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp
.
In 1952 he was expelled from the party
. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to death by hanging
in the Slánský trial, a show trial
orchestrated from Moscow
. In 1968 he was made a Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
in memoriam.
Frank is the central character of Howard Brenton
's 1976 play
Weapons of Happiness
, in which he is imagined not dead, but rather living in exile
.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Between 1939 and 1945 he was imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
In 1952 he was expelled from the 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....
. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to death by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in the Slánský trial, a show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
orchestrated from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In 1968 he was made a Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The title of the Hero of the Czechoslovak Republic was established 1955. The name of the title was changed to Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1960...
in memoriam.
Frank is the central character of Howard Brenton
Howard Brenton
-Early years:Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of Methodist minister Donald Henry Brenton and his wife Rose Lilian . He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and read English Literature at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. In 1964 he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal...
's 1976 play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Weapons of Happiness
Weapons of Happiness
Weapons of Happiness is a 1976 political play by Howard Brenton about a strike in a London crisp factory. The play makes use of a dramatic conceit whereby the Czech communist cabinet minister Josef Frank is imagined alive in the 1970s , and his hallucinations of life in Stalinist Czechoslovakia...
, in which he is imagined not dead, but rather living in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
.