Kamil Krofta (17 July 1876 – 16 August 1945) was a Czech

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

.Honajzer George (1995). ''Vznik a rozpad vládních koalic v Československu v letech 1918-1938.'' stablishment and dissolution of government coalitions in Czechoslovakia in the years 1918-1938.Prague: Orbis.

Life and career

Born and schooled in

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

, he studied history in

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 ...

starting in 1894, then from 1896 to 1899 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From 1901 he worked at the National Archives. Beginning in 1911, he was a professor of Austrian (and later, Czech) history at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

, following the

Jaroslav Goll Jaroslav Goll (14 July 1846 – 8 July 1929) was a Czech historian, medievalist, educator, writer and translator. He was a representative of the historical positivism. He studied history at the Charles University in Prague under Czech Václav Vla ...

school of thought. In his research, he focused on the late medieval and early Czech history, especially that of the peasantry as well as the church. In 1920, he became the first Czechoslovak envoy to The Vatican and was instrumental in the mutual recognition of both states. From 1922 until 1925, he resided as envoy in Vienna and lectured at the Comenius University in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. From 1925 to 1927 he was the Czechoslovak envoy in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. After returning to Prague, he headed the Presidium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Krofta was a key foreign policy advisor to Edvard Beneš who headed the Ministry until he became President of Czechoslovakia in 1935. Krofta served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 29 February 1936 until 4 October 1938.Staff report (May 29, 1936). Krofta Upholds League. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' He succeeded Milan Hodža.Vadnay, Emil (October 5, 1938). SLOVAKS' DEMANDS SHAKE UP CABINET; Czechs Give More Posts to Settle Differences With National Group TWO GENERALS ARE ADDED Shift Is Expected to Help in Effecting an Accord With Germany Slovak Minister Quits Slovak Legion in Vienna. ''

'' Krofta became an active participant in the resistance during the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 ...

through the National Revolution Preparatory Assembly (''Přípravný národní Revoluční výbor''). In 1944, was he arrested and initially held at

Pankrác Prison Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison (''Vazební věznice Praha Pankrác'' in Czech language, Czech), is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic. A part of the Czech Prison Service, it is located southeast of Prague city centre in ...

. He was later moved to the Small Fortress in Terezín and remained incarcerated until the camp was liberated in May 1945. He died in

a few months later as a result of the abuse and neglect during imprisonment. He was awarded Order of Saint Sava.

Selected publications

* ''Kurie a církevní správa zemí českých v době předhusitské'' * ''Řím a Čechy před hnutím husitským'' * ''Historia Fratrum a Rozmlouvání starého Čecha s mladým rytířem'' * ''Listy z náboženských dějin českých'' * ''Bílá hora'' * ''Přehled dějin selského stavu v Čechách a na Moravě'' * ''Čtení o ústavních dějinách slovenských'' * ''Čechové a Slováci před svým státním sjednocením'' * ''Žižka a husitská revoluce'' * ''Z dob naší první republiky'' * ''Nesmrtelný národ'' * ''Malé dějiny československé''

References

External links

Kamil Krofta
via Open Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krofta, Kamil 1876 births 1945 deaths Writers from Plzeň People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Politicians from Plzeň Czech Freemasons Foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia Government ministers of Czechoslovakia Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to Germany Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to Austria Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to the Holy See Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Czech resistance members Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps