Vladimír Clementis
Encyclopedia
Vladimír "Vlado" Clementis (September 20, 1902 Tisovec
(Tiszolc) - December 3, 1952 Prague
) was a Slovak
minister, politician, lawyer, publicist, literary critic, author and a prominent member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. He married Lída Pátková, a daughter of a branch director of Czech Hypothec Bank in Bratislava, in March 1933. He became a Communist MP in 1935. Before the beginning of the World War II
, in 1938, he emigrated to Paris
. His criticism of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
in 1939, contradicted the policies of the Czechoslovak Communist Party exiled in Moscow
and triggered an intra-party investigation overseen by Viliam Široký
(who came to Paris
from Moscow
).
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, he was put into prison as a known Communist, and later evacuated to a British concentration camp. After release, he decided to spend the war in London, where he broadcast speeches on the radio calling for all Slovaks to fight against the Nazis. Returning in 1945, he became Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs under the first post-war government. As a representative of Czechoslovakia
, he signed UN Charter in San Francisco on 26 June, 1945. After a coup d'état
, which he helped organise, he succeeded Jan Masaryk
as Foreign Minister. In 1948, in his new role, he played a decisive role in organising Czechoslovakian's part of the Operation Balak
by providing a help to the newly founded Israeli Air Force
. In 1950, he was forced to resign amid accused of being a "deviationist". He was then arrested and officially charged for an illegal attempt to cross the state boundaries, later changed for a more serious crime to be a "bourgeois nationalist" and participating in the Trotskyite
-Titoite
-Zionist
conspiracy
. After being convicted in the Slánský show trial, he was hanged, along with Rudolf Slánský
, on 3 December 1952. His ashes were scattered on a road close to Prague
. His wife, Lída, received only her husband's two pipes and tobacco and was discharged from a prison.
In the famous photograph from 21 February, 1948 (the story is described in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
by Milan Kundera
), Vladimír Clementis stands next to Klement Gottwald
, who later, after a coup d'état
, became the President of Czechoslovakia. When Vladimír Clementis was executed in 1952, he was erased from the photograph (along with the photographer Karel Hájek).
Tisovec
Tisovec is a town in central Slovakia. Its current population is approximately 4,000.- Location and landscape :Tisovec is situated in the valley of the river Rimava, at the foots of the Muránska planina plateau. The landscape there gives the impression of a small town in the mountains...
(Tiszolc) - December 3, 1952 Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) was a Slovak
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
minister, politician, lawyer, publicist, literary critic, author and a prominent member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. He married Lída Pátková, a daughter of a branch director of Czech Hypothec Bank in Bratislava, in March 1933. He became a Communist MP in 1935. Before the beginning of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1938, he emigrated to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His criticism of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
in 1939, contradicted the policies of the Czechoslovak Communist Party exiled in 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...
and triggered an intra-party investigation overseen by Viliam Široký
Viliam Široký
Viliam Široký was a prominent Communist politician of Czechoslovakia, the Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963, and briefly serving as the acting President of Czechoslovakia following the death of Antonín Zápotocký from 13 November to 19 November 1957. He also served as the leader of the Communist...
(who came to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
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...
).
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, he was put into prison as a known Communist, and later evacuated to a British concentration camp. After release, he decided to spend the war in London, where he broadcast speeches on the radio calling for all Slovaks to fight against the Nazis. Returning in 1945, he became Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs under the first post-war government. As a representative of Czechoslovakia
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...
, he signed UN Charter in San Francisco on 26 June, 1945. After a coup d'état
Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948
The Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 – in Communist historiography known as "Victorious February" – was an event late that February in which the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, ushering in over four decades...
, which he helped organise, he succeeded Jan Masaryk
Jan Masaryk
Jan Garrigue Masaryk was a Czech diplomat and politician and Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1940 to 1948.- Early life :...
as Foreign Minister. In 1948, in his new role, he played a decisive role in organising Czechoslovakian's part of the Operation Balak
Operation Balak
Operation Balak was a smuggling operation, during the founding of Israel in 1948, that purchased arms in Europe to avoid various embargoes and boycotts transferring them to the Zionists...
by providing a help to the newly founded Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
. In 1950, he was forced to resign amid accused of being a "deviationist". He was then arrested and officially charged for an illegal attempt to cross the state boundaries, later changed for a more serious crime to be a "bourgeois nationalist" and participating in the Trotskyite
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
-Titoite
Titoism
Titoism is a variant of Marxism–Leninism named after Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily used to describe the specific socialist system built in Yugoslavia after its refusal of the 1948 Resolution of the Cominform, when the Communist Party of...
-Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
conspiracy
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
. After being convicted in the Slánský show trial, he was hanged, along with Rudolf Slánský
Rudolf Slánský
Rudolf Slánský was a Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia...
, on 3 December 1952. His ashes were scattered on a road close to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. His wife, Lída, received only her husband's two pipes and tobacco and was discharged from a prison.
In the famous photograph from 21 February, 1948 (the story is described in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is a novel by Milan Kundera, published in 1979. It is composed of seven separate narratives united by some common themes. The book considers the nature of forgetting as it occurs in history, politics and life in general...
by Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
), Vladimír Clementis stands next to Klement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald was a Czechoslovakian Communist politician, longtime leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , prime minister and president of Czechoslovakia.-Early life:...
, who later, after a coup d'état
Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948
The Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 – in Communist historiography known as "Victorious February" – was an event late that February in which the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, ushering in over four decades...
, became the President of Czechoslovakia. When Vladimír Clementis was executed in 1952, he was erased from the photograph (along with the photographer Karel Hájek).
See also
- Klement GottwaldKlement GottwaldKlement Gottwald was a Czechoslovakian Communist politician, longtime leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , prime minister and president of Czechoslovakia.-Early life:...
- Nineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
- Photo manipulationPhoto manipulationPhoto manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception , through analog or digital means.- Types of digital photo manipulation :...
- The Book of Laughter and ForgettingThe Book of Laughter and ForgettingThe Book of Laughter and Forgetting is a novel by Milan Kundera, published in 1979. It is composed of seven separate narratives united by some common themes. The book considers the nature of forgetting as it occurs in history, politics and life in general...