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

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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 species; as well as the ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

.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 (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, he studied history in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

starting in 1894, then from 1896 to 1899 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. From 1901 he worked at the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

. Beginning in 1911, he was a professor of Austrian (and later, Czech) history at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

, following the Jaroslav Goll 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. He was prominent member of the Masonic Lodge ''Národ'' located in

, which was one of the founding lodges of the National Czechoslovak Grand Lodge in 1923. 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 Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

. From 1925 to 1927 he was the Czechoslovak envoy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After returning to Prague, he headed the Presidium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Krofta was a key foreign policy advisor to

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

who headed the Ministry until he became

President of Czechoslovakia The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the Origins of Czechoslovakia, creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, dissolution of the Czech and Slovak F ...

in 1935. Krofta served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

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

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 (), is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic. A part of the Czech Prison Service, it is located southeast of Prague city centre in Pankrác, not far from Pražského povstání metro stati ...

. He was later moved to the Small Fortress in

Terezín Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre i ...

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 The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a Order (distinction), state order awarded by both the Kingdom of S ...

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 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 Czech Freemasons Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps Charles University alumni