Artur London (1 February 1915 – 8 November 1986) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician and co-defendant in the

Slánský Trial The Slánský trial (officially English: "Trial of the Leadership of the Anti-State Conspiracy Centre Headed by Rudolf Slánský") was a 1952 antisemitic show trial against fourteen members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), incl ...

in 1952. Though he was sentenced to life in prison, he was freed in 1955; he then settled in France with his wife

Lise London Lise London (15 February 1916 – 31 March 2012) was a French Communist politician and activist. She participated in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War and the French Resistance during World War II. She was the widow of Artu ...

. In 1968 he published his memoirs in ''L'Aveu'' (''The Confession''), a book which resonated internationally, adapted by

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

as the movie of the same name.

Biography

London was born in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. London spent 1934 to 1937 in Moscow. In 1937, during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, he left for Barcelona where he worked for SIM (

Servicio de Información Militar The Servicio de Información Militar (Military Information Service) or SIM was the political police of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces from August 1937 to the end of the Spanish Civil War. History Background In a speech delivered on 28 Novemb ...

), an intelligence service run by the Soviet

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

. He moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

after the defeat of the Republicans. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was active in the French resistance, was arrested by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

and sent to the

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

. After the war, he lived in Switzerland but soon moved with family to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, where he became a leading figure in 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 Cominte ...

and was eventually nominated deputy minister of foreign affairs in 1948. In 1951, he was arrested and became a co-defendant with

Rudolf Slánský Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a leading 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 Czechosl ...

in the

Slánský trial The Slánský trial (officially English: "Trial of the Leadership of the Anti-State Conspiracy Centre Headed by Rudolf Slánský") was a 1952 antisemitic show trial against fourteen members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), incl ...

, one of several show trials against Eastern European communists at the time. Accused of being a

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

Trotskyite Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an Orthodox Marxism, orthod ...

and

Titoist Titoism is a political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War. It is characterized by a broad Yugoslav identity, workers' self-management, a political separation from the Soviet Union, and leadership in the ...

, he was forced to confess and sentenced to life in prison. After the Slánský trial, London collaborated with the authorities and served as a lead witness in other construed political processes against top Czechoslovak communists, such as

Eduard Goldstücker Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the succ ...

Josef Pavel Josef Pavel (18 September 1908 – 9 April 1973) was a Czechoslovak communist politician and military official who served as Minister of Interior of Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring. Biography Early career He was born in to the poor f ...

Osvald Závodský Osvald may refer to: * Osvald (given name) * Surname: ** Hugo Osvald (1892–1970), Swedish botanist and plant ecologist specializing on mire ecology, Sphagnum and peat formation * Osvald Group The Osvald Group was a Norwegian organisation that ...

Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak communist politician of Slovak origin, who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the president o ...

Otakar Hromádko Otakar Hromádko (30 August 1909 in Kněž, district Čáslav, Austria-Hungary – 14 April 1983 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland) was a Czechoslovak journalist and army officer. Although he spent first half of his life fighting for communi ...

and others. Following

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's death in 1953, London was released in 1955. After his

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

in 1963, he moved to France with his wife,

, a French communist he had met in Moscow. In 1963, London published ''Espagne,'' a book about his time in the Spanish civil war. The couple wrote the book ''L’Aveu'' (1968), an autobiographical account of his ordeal in the Prague Trials. The English translation ''The Confession'' by

Alastair Hamilton Alastair Andrew Hamish Hamilton FBA (born 20 May 1941) is an English historian. Education The only son of the publisher Hamish Hamilton and his second wife Yvonne Vicino Pallavicino, Hamilton was educated at Eton College and read Modern La ...

appeared in 1968. (In the United Kingdom, the translation was published in 1970 under the title ''On Trial''). While the main defendants were senior to London, he gained prominence worldwide by writing the book. The book was the basis for the film ''The Confession'' (1970) directed by

, starring

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...

and

Simone Signoret Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a ...

Chris Marker Chris Marker (; 29 July 1921 – 29 July 2012) was a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and Essay#Film, film essayist. His best known films are ''La Jetée'' (1962), ''A Grin Without a Cat'' (1977) and ''S ...

made the short film ''On vous parle de Prague: Le deuxième procès d'Artur London,'' an on-set documentary about the making of this movie. Lise later narrated the documentary '' A Trial in Prague'', directed by Zuzana Justman (2002, 83min). Artur London died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1986, aged 71. Lise died there in 2012, aged 96. They are both buried in the PCF plot at

Ivry Cemetery Ivry Cemetery (''cimetière parisien d'Ivry'') is one of the extramural cemeteries of Paris, located in the neighbouring town of Ivry-sur-Seine in Val-de-Marne, less than 500 metres outside Paris's intramural area. As well as a green space, it is ...

Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Paris's main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the co ...

References

Notes

External links

Interview
(in French) about his life with

(Lise Ricol), his wife

(in Spanish) interviews and articles about

{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Artur 1915 births 1986 deaths Politicians from Ostrava category:Burials at Ivry Cemetery People from the Margraviate of Moravia Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians Government ministers of Czechoslovakia Jewish Czech politicians Jewish socialists Czechoslovak people of the Spanish Civil War International Brigades personnel Czechoslovak people of World War II Mauthausen concentration camp survivors Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Czechoslovak prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak expatriates in France Czechoslovak Socialist Republic rehabilitations