Antonín Zápotocký (; 19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech
communist politician and statesman in
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. He served as the
Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953, and then as
President of Czechoslovakia
The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the Origins of Czechoslovakia, creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, dissolution of the Czech and Slovak F ...
from 1953 to 1957.
Biography
Zápotocký was born in
Zákolany,
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
,
Cisleithania (then in
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, now in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
). His father was
Ladislav Zápotocký, one of the founders of the
Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), together with
Josef Boleslav Pecka-Strahovský and
Josef Hybeš. Antonín Zápotocký was himself active in the ČSSD from an early age as a party functionary in the
Kladno
Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history.
Administrative division
Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...
district, and as an editor of the party press. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he served as a soldier in the
Austro-Hungarian Army.
Following the end of the war and the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Zápotocký emerged as one of the leaders of the left wing of the ČSSD. He was a
delegate of the party's left wing to the
Second World Congress of the
Comintern, which was held in
Petrograd between 19 July and 7 August 1920. Together with
Bohumír Šmeral, he co-founded the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...
(KSČ) after the party left broke away from the ČSSD in 1921. He was
General Secretary of the KSČ from 1922 to 1925. During the 1930s, Zápotocký focused on
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
work; in 1932, he was among the organizers of a widespread strike in the
Most area. Towards the later half of the 1930s, Zápotocký worked to unite the Czechoslovak trade unions on an
anti-fascist
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
platform.
After the activities of the KSČ were suppressed under the terms of the
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
in 1938 and the majority of the party leadership started operating clandestinely, Zápotocký and
Jaromír Dolanský represented its official leadership until it was officially banned in December of that year. After the
occupation of the Czech lands by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
the following year, Zápotocký was arrested in April while illegally trying to cross the border into
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
.
After being held in
Pankrác Prison in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, Zápotocký was then imprisoned in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
before being sent to
Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1940.
After the liberation of Sachsenhausen and the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1945, Zápotocký returned to Czechoslovakia, where he was appointed chairman of the Central Council of Trade Unions and a member of the presidium of the Central Committee of the KSČ. He was elected to the
Interim National Assembly in the same year, and went on to serve as Chairman of the succeeding
Constituent National Assembly from 18 June to 18 July 1946.
Zápotocký replaced
Klement Gottwald as prime minister on 15 June 1948, when the latter became president. On 14 March 1953, shortly after returning from
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
leader
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's funeral in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Gottwald died. As per the
Ninth-of-May Constitution, Zápotocký took over most presidential duties, and was formally elected president in his own right a week later.
Zápotocký favoured a more humane way of governing, but was outflanked by the
Stalinist First Secretary
Antonín Novotný. In May 1953, in the wake of a monetary reform which effectively deprived the farmers and better-paid workers of all their savings, sporadic riots against the communist authorities took place. This occasion gave Novotný a chance to seize the upper hand. At a meeting in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Zápotocký was told to adhere to "collective leadership" — in effect, give up power to Novotný.
Zápotocký stayed in office until his death in Prague in 1957, making him the second Czechoslovak President to die in office. His body was cremated at
Strašnice Crematorium and interred.
Zápotocký wrote several novels, based on the history of the labour movement in Czechoslovakia. Two of these were made into films: ''Red Glow Over Kladno'' () and ''New Warriors Will Rise'' ().
Honours and awards
Czechoslovak honours
*
Czechoslovak War Cross 1939 (1947)
*
Order of Klement Gottwald, three times (21 March 1953; 19 December 1954; 7 May 1955)
*
Order of the White Lion, 1st Class (21 March 1953)
*
Military Order of the White Lion, 1st Class (1953)
Foreign honours
*
Order of 9 September 1944, 1st Class (1948)
*
Order of the National Flag, 1st Class (1955)
*

Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of Cambodia (1956)
*
Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic, 1st Class (1956)
*
Order of Karl Marx (1957)
*
Order of Liberation, 1st Class (1957)
Gallery
A.ZÁPOTOCKÝ.jpg, Grave of Antonín Zápotocký
Antonín-Zápotocký-socha-Zákolany2011b.jpg, Statue of Antonín Zápotocký in his birthtown Zákolany
References
External links
*
Biography*
H. Gordon Skilling, "The Formation of a Communist Party in Czechoslovakia", American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Oct., 1955), p. 346-358
* H. Gordon Skilling, "The Comintern and Czechoslovak Communism: 1921-1929", American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr., 1960), p. 234-247
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zapotocky, Antonin
1884 births
1957 deaths
People from Kladno District
People from the Kingdom of Bohemia
Czech Social Democratic Party politicians
Leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Presidents of Czechoslovakia
Prime ministers of Czechoslovakia
Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1925–1929)
Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1929–1935)
Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1935–1939)
Members of the Interim National Assembly of Czechoslovakia
Members of the Constituent National Assembly of Czechoslovakia
Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1948–1954)
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia prime ministers
Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors
Recipients of the Order of Klement Gottwald
Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion
Recipients of the Order of Karl Marx