Elek Köblös (; 12 May 1887 – 9 October 1938) was an
Austro-Hungarian
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 ...
-born
Hungarian and
Romanian
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 ...
activist and political leader. He was also known by the
pseudonyms ''Balthazar'', ''Bădulescu'', and ''Dănilă''. He served as general secretary of the
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...
from 1924 to 1927 and was executed in the Soviet Union during the
Great Purge.
Biography
Early years
Köblös was born on 12 May 1887 into an
ethnic Hungarian family in Sáromberke (present-day ''Dumbrăvioara'', part of
Ernei
Ernei ( hu, Nagyernye ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania, composed of six villages: Călușeri (''Székelykál''), Dumbrăvioara (''Sáromberke''), Ernei, Icland (''Ikland''), Săcăreni (''Székes''), and Sângeru de Pădure ...
,
Mureș County) in
Transylvania. After completing elementary school in his native village, he continued his studies in Nagyenyed (today
Aiud, Romania). He dropped out of school after four years, and started as an apprentice carpenter in Marosvásárhely (today
Târgu Mureș).
As a carpenter, Köblös became active in the
trade union movement and was won over to the ideas of
revolutionary socialism. He took part in revolutionary activities in the
Austro-Hungarian empire
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 ...
at the end of 1918,
[Branko Lazitch with Milorad M. Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition.'' Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; pg. 219.] fighting against Romanian troops in defense of the
Hungarian Soviet Republic, during the
Hungarian–Romanian War. When Transylvania was incorporated into the
Kingdom of Romania in 1920, Köblös became a Romanian citizen.
Political career
Köblös was a delegate to the May 1921 Congress of the
Socialist Party of Romania, where supporters of the
Russian
October Revolution established the "Socialist-Communist Party" (soon renamed the
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...
). Köblös was arrested at the closing of the Congress on 12 May 1921 and implicated in the
Dealul Spirii Trial before being released in 1922.
In October 1922, at the 2nd Congress of the Communist Party held at
Ploiești, Köblös was elected member of the Central Committee, together with
Gheorghe Cristescu,
Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea,
Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu,
Marcel Pauker,
Eugen Rozvan Eugen Rozvan ( hu, Rozvány Jenő; Russian: Евгений Георгиевич Розвань, ''Evgeny Georgiyevich Rozvan''; December 28, 1878 — June 16, 1938) was a Hungarian-born Romanian communist activist, lawyer, and Marxist historian, wh ...
, and
Boris Stefanov. Köblös headed the party's trade union section, with particular attention given to the woodworkers' union, of which he was the head.
In 1924, at the 3rd Congress held in
Vienna, Köblös was appointed
general secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the Romanian Communist Party, replacing the disillusioned Gheorghe Cristescu. He continued in this position until 1927. During this period, Köblös came into conflict with Marcel Pauker.
In the summer of 1924, Köblös travelled to the
Soviet Union, where he attended the
4th World Congress of the Communist International
The 4th World Congress of the Communist International was an assembly of delegates to the Communist International held in Petrograd and Moscow, Soviet Russia, between November 5 and December 5, 1922. A total of 343 voting delegates from 58 countri ...
on behalf of the Romanian party.
Köblös returned to Romania in 1925, where he headed a secret meeting of the party Central Committee in July, which decided to use the existing workers' and peasants' bloc as a legal outlet for Communist Party activity.
[Lazitch with Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern,'' pg. 220.] This effort at legal work proved unsuccessful, however, and Köblös was forced to flee the country in the fall of 1925. He remained in exile until 1927, staying in Vienna and the Soviet Union as a part of the Romanian Communist Central Committee in exile.
In 1927, Köblös returned to Romania, where he once again came under police scrutiny. He hastily fled to
Czechoslovakia but was arrested at
Košice
Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
by Czechoslovak authorities and held for possible
extradition to Romania.
A major press campaign was launched on Köblös' behalf, with many international leftist activists, including French novelist
Henri Barbusse
Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein.
Life
The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...
, successfully lobbying the
Prague authorities not to extradite Köblös to Romania. Köblös was finally allowed to leave for the Soviet Union.
In June 1928, Köblös attended the 4th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, held in
Kharkov in the
Ukraine.
Köblös came under severe criticism at that party gathering for perceived errors in the Romanian party's political line and despite engaging in public
self-criticism for these alleged shortcomings, Köblös was not re-elected to the party's Central Committee.
In December 1929, the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
and the
Comintern
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
once again condemned the political activity of Köblös and he was forbidden to take part in any further work of the Romanian Communist Party.
Instead, Köblös returned to carpentry in an aviation factory.
Arrest and execution
Köblös continued to make his home in the Soviet Union. He ran afoul of the
secret police during the
Great Purge of 1937, when he was arrested, accused of espionage. He was executed on 9 October 1938,
[Romániai Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon]
/ref> most likely in the Lubyanka Prison, Moscow.
He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1968, during Nicolae Ceaușescu's move to establish his legitimacy in Communist Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...
.
Footnotes
Additional sources
* Vladimir Tismăneanu, ''Fantoma lui Gheorghiu-Dej'', Editura Univers, Bucharest, 1995
*''Dosarele Istoriei'', 10/1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koblos, Elek
1887 births
1938 deaths
People from Mureș County
Romanian politicians of Hungarian descent
Dealul Spirii Trial
General Secretaries of the Romanian Communist Party
Hungarian emigrants to the Soviet Union
Romanian emigrants to the Soviet Union
Executive Committee of the Communist International
Executed activists
Hungarian people executed by the Soviet Union
Great Purge victims from Romania
Socialist Republic of Romania rehabilitations
Executed communists