Vladimír "Vlado" Clementis (20 September 1902

Tisovec Tisovec ( hu, Tiszolc, german: Theissholz or ''Theissholcz'', Latin: ''Taxovia'') is a town in central Slovakia. Its population is around 4,000. Location and landscape Tisovec is situated in the valley of the river Rimava, at the foot of th ...

– 3 December 1952

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 ...

) was a Slovak minister, politician, lawyer, publicist, literary critic, author and a prominent member of the

Czechoslovak Communist Party 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 Cominter ...

. He married Lída Pátková, the daughter of a branch director of the Czech Mortgage Bank 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 ...

, in March 1933. He became a Communist MP in 1935. After 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 ...

shortly before the beginning of

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 ...

, in 1938, he emigrated to

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 ...

. His criticism of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

in 1939, contradicted the policies of the

exiled to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and triggered an intra-party investigation overseen by

Viliam Široký Viliam Široký (31 May 1902 – 6 October 1971) was a prominent Communist politician of Czechoslovakia, the prime minister from 1953 to 1963. He also served as the leader of the Communist Party of Slovakia between 1945 and 1954. Biography ...

(who came to

from

). At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, he was put into prison as a known Communist, and later evacuated to a British internment camp. After his release, he decided to spend the war in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he broadcast speeches on the radio calling for all Slovaks to fight in the

Slovak National Uprising The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...

against the Nazis. During the Bratislava–Brno offensive he unsuccessfully complained to Marshal

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the E ...

about the mass rapes by Red Army soldiers against Czechoslovak civilians. Returning in 1945, he became Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs under the first post-war government. After a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

, which he helped organise, he succeeded

Jan Masaryk Jan Garrigue Masaryk (14 September 1886 – 10 March 1948) was a Czech diplomat and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1940 to 1948. American journalist John Gunther described Masaryk as "a brave, honest, turbul ...

as Foreign Minister. In 1948, in his new role, he played a decisive role in organising Czechoslovakia's part in

Operation Balak Operation Balak was a smuggling operation, during the founding of Israel in 1948, that purchased arms in Europe to avoid various embargoes and boycotts transferring them to the Yishuv. Of particular note was the delivery of 23 Czechoslovakia-made ...

by providing assistance to the newly founded

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

. In 1950, he was forced to resign amid accusations of being a "deviationist". He was then arrested and charged for an illegal attempt to cross the state boundaries, later changed to the more serious crime of being a "bourgeois nationalist" and participating in a

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 ...

- Titoite-

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 ...

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

. After being convicted in the Slánský show trial, he was hanged, along 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 ...

, on 3 December 1952. His ashes were scattered on a road close to

. His wife, Lída, received only her husband's two pipes and tobacco and was discharged from a prison. In the famous photograph from 21 February 1948 (the story is described in ''

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting ''The Book of Laughter and Forgetting'' ( cs, Kniha smíchu a zapomnění, Kniha smíchu a zapomnění) is a novel by Milan Kundera, published in France in 1979. It is composed of seven separate narratives united by some common themes. The book ...

'' by

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

), Vladimír Clementis stands next to

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953–titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman from ...

, who later, after the

, became the President of Czechoslovakia. When Vladimír Clementis was executed in 1952, he was erased from the photograph (along with the photographer

Karel Hájek Karel Hájek (22 January 1900, Lásenice – 31 March 1978, Prague) was a Czechoslovak photographer who was represented by Schostal Photo Agency (Agentur Schostal).Rebecca Madamba (2008) The Schostal Agency: A Finding Aid for the Schostal Agency ...

).
Retouched photograph of Gottwald and Clementis from 21 February 1948, Prague, Czechoslovakia, Czech News Agency, čtk.cz .

Footnotes

References

*
Biography at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clementis, Vladimir 1902 births 1952 deaths People from Tisovec People from the Kingdom of Hungary Slovak Lutherans Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Communist Party of Slovakia (1939) politicians Foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia Government ministers of Czechoslovakia 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) Slánský trial defendants Executed Czechoslovak people Executed politicians People executed by the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic by hanging Executed Slovak people 20th-century Lutherans Slovak anti-fascists

See also

Footnotes

References