František Kriegel (10 April 1908 — 3 December 1979) 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 ...
politician, physician, and a member of the Communist Party reform wing of
Prague Spring (1968). He was the only one of the political leaders who, during the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
, declined to sign the
Moscow Protocol.
Early life
František Kriegel was born in Stanisławów (today
Ivano-Frankivsk),
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 ...
(present
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) to the family of a
Jew
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""T ...
ish builder. His father died when František was ten, and the family became dependent upon help from František's grandfather. Due to the fierce anti-semitism in
Galicia of that time, young Kriegel left home to study medicine at German part of
Charles University in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
(instead of the nearby
Lviv University
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
where there was an unofficial
Jewish quota
A Jewish quota was a discriminatory racial quota designed to limit or deny access for Jews to various institutions. Such quotas were widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries in developed countries and frequently present in higher education, o ...
in place).
His mother could only give him a little money and six white shirts.
Prague
Kriegel had to earn a living in a shoemaker's shop or as an extra in the theatre (he even sold sausages in football stadiums), but he enjoyed an independent life in the highly tolerant society of 1920s Czechoslovakia.
During the
Great Depression, he joined 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 Comint ...
(KSČ) and believed that
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
and
national justice would solve the problem of the
poor and the
Jewish question
The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national ...
. He became a
doctor of medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
in 1934 and started his career in the I. Internal Medicine Clinic in Prague.
Spain and the Far East
In December 1936, Kriegel joined the
International Brigades to fight against Spanish nationalists of
General Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
in 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, link ...
. He served as a doctor and gained the rank of
major. After the defeat of Republicans in 1939, Kriegel crossed the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
where he was interned in
Saint-Cyprien and then in
Camp Gurs. A return to Czechoslovakia was impossible because it had been
occupied by Nazi Germany. Kriegel accepted an assignment from the
Norwegian Red Cross
The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization f ...
to go as a doctor to
China to help in the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. He joined a group of 20 doctors, among them Friedrich Kisch (1894–1968), brother to
Egon Erwin Kisch
Egon Erwin Kisch (29 April 1885 – 31 March 1948) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. He styled himself ''Der Rasende Reporter'' (The Raging Reporter) for his countless travels to the far corners of the ...
. During the siege of
Walawbum, he treated nearly 50 injured soldiers.
Toward the end of the war, he served with Chinese and American units in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
[Karel Pacner, "Osudové okamžiky Československa", (Prague, 1997), 455–456. ] where he witnessed the victory of the
Allies in October 1945.
Back in Czechoslovakia
Kriegel returned to Czechoslovakia in November 1945 and, while continuing to work as a doctor, he involved himself in the political work of the Communist Party. He was a member of the KSČ Regional Committee in Prague and was working as a secretary in
Lidové milice (People's Militias) when the KSČ
seized control of the country in February 1948. He was appointed as the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in 1949. During the political purges of the party in the 1950s, Kriegel had to leave the ministry and worked as a doctor for the
Tatra company. He resumed his medical career in 1957 and became chief physician at the
Vinohrady
Královské Vinohrady (in English literally "Royal Vineyards" german: Königliche Weinberge) is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the muni ...
hospital in Prague. In 1960, he went to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
as an adviser of the
Fidel Castro's government on the organisation of medical care – thus he was there at the time of the
Cuban Missile Crisis. When he returned to Czechoslovakia, Kriegel refused a post in the party organisation but stood as a member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
and was elected in 1964.
Finally, he became a member of the Central Committee of KSČ in 1966, though he was opposed to the conservative
neo-Stalinist
Neo-Stalinism (russian: Неосталинизм) is the promotion of positive views of Joseph Stalin's role in history, the partial re-establishing of Stalin's policies on certain issues and nostalgia for the Stalin period. Neo-Stalinism over ...
stream in the party. When
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...
was elected the first secretary of the Central Committee of KSČ in January 1968, Kriegel was one of the main proponents of the democratic wing of the party. Throughout this period, he did not give up his medical career; he worked as chief physician first at the Rheumatic Diseases Research Institute (1963–65) and then at
Thomayer hospital in Prague (1965–69).
Prague Spring
In April 1968, Kriegel became the chairman of the Central Committee of the
National Front (a coalition of the Communist Party and its allied satellite parties) and a member of Presidium of the Central Committee of KSČ. As one of the main personalities during the
Prague Spring, he grew to be hated by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
officials as well as the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Czech Communists. During the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
on 21 August 1968, he and five other main representatives of the party were arrested by the Soviet
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
and Czech
StB
State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it d ...
(Šalgovič) units and deported by plane to Moscow (the others were
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...
,
Oldřich Černík
Oldřich Černík (October 27, 1921 – October 19, 1994) was a Czechoslovak Communist political figure. He was the prime minister of Czechoslovakia from April 8, 1968, to January 28, 1970.
A party official and well-known technocrat, Černík ...
,
Josef Smrkovský
Josef Smrkovský (26 February 1911 – 15 January 1974) was a Czechoslovak politician and a member of the Communist Party reform wing during the 1968 Prague Spring
The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a perio ...
,
Josef Špaček, and
Bohumil Šimon).
Kriegel was treated particularly roughly, and made the target of
anti-semitic insults. He was so distrusted by the Soviets that he was not allowed to be present during the negotiations of the two parties, and when he was asked to sign the text of the concluding statement he was the only one of 26 politicians to refuse.
"Send me to Siberia or shoot me dead", he replied.
He was eventually released with the others and accordingly, he voted against the
Temporary Sojourn of the Soviet Army Treaty in October 1968 (with three other MPs). He was removed from the Central Committee and then expelled from the party in 1969.
1969–1979
In the last decade of his life, Kriegel worked for the opposition. He was among the first to sign
Charter 77
Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...
. On September 18, 1979, he was hospitalized with a heart attack. He died in a Prague hospital under police control on December 3, 1979,
and his body was seized by the authorities to prevent any demonstrations at a funeral. He is buried together with his wife Riva Krieglova in Prague's Motol Cemetery near the Memorial to Victims of Communism.
Legacy
The František Kriegel Award is granted annually to a person who has fought for human rights. It was founded in
Stockholm in 1987 and is funded by the Charter 77 Fund. In August 2014 the
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
of
Prague 2
Prague 2, formally the Prague 2 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 2''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name.
As of the end of 2004 ...
municipality refused to grant him an
honorary citizenship
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriegel, Frantisek
1908 births
1979 deaths
20th-century Czech people
Czechoslovak people of Polish descent
Czechoslovak democracy activists
Prague Spring
International Brigades personnel
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians
Czechoslovak people of the Spanish Civil War
Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Czech Jews
Czech people of Polish-Jewish descent
Politicians from Ivano-Frankivsk
Charter 77 signatories
Czech military doctors
Czech rheumatologists
Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 1st class
Czechoslovak physicians