Klement Gottwald (Czech pronunciation:[ˈklɛmɛntˈɡotvalt]; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czechcommunist politician, who was the leader of theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman from 1945 to 1953. He was the first leader ofCommunist Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953.[1]
Following the collapse of democratic Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement, the right-wing leadership of the Czechoslovak Second Republic banned the Communist Party, forcing Gottwald to emigrate to the Soviet Union in November 1938. In 1943, Gottwald agreed with representatives of the Czechoslovak-government-in-exile located in London, along with PresidentEdvard Beneš, to unify domestic and foreignanti-fascist resistance and form theNational Front. He was the 14thprime minister of Czechoslovakia from July 1946 until June 1948, the first Communist to hold the post. In June 1948, he was elected as Czechoslovakia's first Communistpresident, four months after the1948 coup d'état in which his party seized power with the backing of theSoviet Union. He held the post until his death.
From 1915 to 1918 Gottwald was a soldier in theAustro-Hungarian Army. It is believed that he fought in theBattle of Zborov, which would mean that he fought there against future General and PresidentLudvík Svoboda, who fought on the side of theCzechoslovak Legion.[3] Thomas Jakl of the Military History Institute called Gottwald's participation in the Battle of Zborov a legend: Gottwald was in a hospital inVienna during the time of the battle.[4] In the summer of 1918, Gottwald deserted from the army. After the establishment of thefirst Czechoslovak Republic, he served for two years in theCzechoslovak Army. From 1920 to 1921 he worked inRousinov as a cabinetmaker.
After the collapse of theWorkers' Gymnastic Union [cs], the Communist-oriented party of the organization split off in 1921 and created theFederation of Workers' Gymnastic Unions [cs] (FDTJ). Gottwald was able to unify the organization to gain considerable power in the local districts, and became thestarosta of the 20th district of the FDTJ. In June 1921, he participated in the firstSpartakiada inPrague. In September 1921 he moved fromRousinov toBanská Bystrica, where he became the editor of the communist magazineHlas Ľudu ("Voice of the people" in Slovak). At the same time, he was planning FDTJ events at theBanská Bystrica district. He became the localstarosta of the district, and was the managing director of the 47th district of the FDTJ. Later, he moved toŽilina and became editor in chief ofSpartakus magazine. In 1922 he moved toVrútky, where by decision of theCommunist PartyCentral Committee, they merged a number of communist magazines and consolidated editors. In 1924, the editorial staff, along with Gottwald, moved toOstrava.
Gottwald's identification card during his time in the Comintern, 1935
In 1926, Gottwald became afunctionary of theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and editor of the Communist Press. From 1926 to 1929 he worked in Prague, where he aided the Secretariat of the KSČ to form a pro-Moscow opposition against the anti-Moscow leadership then in power. From 1928 he was a member of theComintern. Following a Comintern policy initiated by Stalin, he carried out theBolshevization of the Party.[5]
In the second half of 1930, the Communist Party carried out a number of reforms in accordance and response with the changes in those of the foreign policy of theSoviet Union, namely the introduction of the policy on the formation of apopular front against fascism. In September and October 1938, Gottwald was one of the main leaders of the opposition against the adoption of theMunich Agreement.
After the banning of the Communist Party, Gottwald emigrated tothe Soviet Union in November 1938. While there, he opposed the party policy of backing theMolotov–Ribbentrop pact of 1939. After theattack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leadership saw the front against fascism as a great opportunity to assert themselves inCzechoslovakia, promoting interest in supporting Gottwald after the liberation of Czechoslovakia. In 1943, Gottwald agreed with representatives of theCzechoslovak government-in-exile located in London, along with PresidentEdvard Beneš, to unify domestic and foreign anti-fascist resistance and form theNational Front. This proved helpful for Gottwald as it helped secure Communist influence in post-war Czechoslovakia.
Return to Czechoslovakia and events leading up to the coup
In 1945, Gottwald gave up the general secretary's post toRudolf Slánský and was elected to the new position of party chairman. On 10 May 1945, Gottwald returned to Prague as the deputy premier underZdeněk Fierlinger and as the chairman of theNational Front. In March 1946, he became prime minister after leading the KSČ to a 38% share of the vote.[6] This was easily the best showing for a Czechoslovak party in a free election at the time; previously, no party had ever won more than 25 percent.
Gottwald was a firm supporter of theexpulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia, gaining mainstream credibility with many Czechs through the use of nationalist rhetoric, exhorting the population to "prepare for the final retribution forWhite Mountain, for the return of the Czech lands to the Czech people. We will expel for good all descendants of the alien German nobility."[7]
By the summer of 1947, however, the KSČ's popularity had significantly dwindled, particularly after the Soviets pressured Czechoslovakia to turn downMarshall Plan aid after initially accepting it. Most observers believed Gottwald would be turned out of office at the elections due in May 1948. The Communists' dwindling popularity, combined with France and Italy dropping the Communists from their coalition governments, promptedJoseph Stalin to order Gottwald to begin efforts to eliminate parliamentary opposition to Communism in Czechoslovakia.
Outwardly, though, Gottwald kept up the appearance of working within the system, announcing that he intended to lead the Communists to an absolute majority in the upcoming election—something no Czechoslovak party had ever done. The endgame began in February 1948, when a majority of the Cabinet directed the Communist interior minister,Václav Nosek, to stop packing the police force with Communists. Nosek ignored this directive, with Gottwald's support. In response, 12 non-Communist ministers resigned. They believed that without their support, Gottwald would be unable to govern and be forced to either give way or resign. Beneš initially supported their position, and refused to accept their resignations. At that point, Gottwald dropped all pretense of liberal democracy. He not only refused to resign, but demanded the appointment of a Communist-dominated government under threat of a general strike. His Communist colleagues occupied the offices of the non-Communist ministers.[8]
On 25 February, Beneš, fearing Soviet intervention, gave in. He accepted the resignations of the non-Communist ministers and appointed a new government in accordance with Gottwald's specifications. Although ostensibly still a coalition, it was dominated by Communists and pro-Moscow Social Democrats. The other parties were still nominally represented, but with the exception of Foreign MinisterJan Masaryk they werefellow travellers handpicked by the Communists. From this date forward, Gottwald was effectively the most powerful man in Czechoslovakia.
Celebration of the2nd World Festival of Youth and Students in August 1949, Budapest, Hungary. The photograph shows the Czechoslovak delegation; left is a portrait of Gottwald, on the right,Stalin.
On 9 May, the National Assembly, now a docile tool of the Communists, approved the so-calledNinth-of-May Constitution. While it was not a completely Communist document, its Communist imprint was strong enough that Beneš refused to sign it. Later that month,elections were held in which voters were presented with a single list from the National Front, now a Communist-controlled patriotic organization. Beneš resigned on 2 June. In accordance with the 1920 Constitution, Gottwald took over most presidential functions until 14 June, when he was formally elected as President.
Gottwald initially tried to take a semi-independent line. However, that changed shortly after a meeting with Stalin. Under Stalin's direction, Gottwald imposed theStalinist Soviet model of government on the country.[8] Henationalized the country's industry and initiated thecollectivization of Czechoslovak farms. There was considerable resistance within the government to Soviet influence on Czechoslovak politics. In response, Gottwald instigated a series ofpurges. Perceived opponents were often jailed or condemned to forced labor. His regime conducted a number ofshow trials, including the trial of the non-Communist politicianMilada Horáková, who was executed in June 1950, as well as fellow comrades and Communist party leadersRudolf Slánský andVlado Clementis, both of whom were executed in December 1952. Many Communist leaders subjected to show trials had been part of a tight-knit group of Communists around Gottwald in the interwar period. In a famous photograph from 21 February 1948, described also inThe Book of Laughter and Forgetting byMilan Kundera, Clementis stands next to Gottwald. When Clementis was charged in 1950, he waserased from the photograph (along with the photographer Karel Hájek) by the state propaganda department.[9][10]
Klement Gottwald was married toMarta Gottwaldová [cs] who came from a poor family and was an illegitimate child. Although his wife stood by him through his endeavours, and was his faithful companion, she never joined theCommunist Party. They had one daughter, Marta (1920–1998), who married Alexey Čepička.[11]
Gottwald was a long-timealcoholic[12] and suffered from heart disease caused bysyphilis that had gone untreated for several years.[13] Shortly after attendingStalin's funeral on 9 March 1953, one of his arteries burst. He died five days later on 14 March 1953, aged 56. He was the first Czechoslovak president to die in office.
Gottwald's embalmed body was initially displayed in amausoleum at the site of theJan Žižkanational monument in the district of Žižkov, Prague. In 1962, thepersonality cult ended and it was no longer deemed appropriate to show Gottwald's body. There are accounts that in 1962 Gottwald's body had blackened and wasdecomposing due to a botchedembalming, although other witnesses have disputed this.[14] His body was cremated, the ashes returned to the Žižka Monument and placed in a sarcophagus.
After the end of the communist period, Gottwald's ashes were removed from the Žižka Monument (in 1990) and placed in a common grave at Prague'sOlšany Cemetery,[15] together with the ashes of about 20 other communist leaders which had also originally been placed in the Žižka Monument. TheCommunist Party of Bohemia and Moravia now maintains that common grave.
He was succeeded asde facto leader of Czechoslovakia byAntonín Novotný, who became First Secretary of the KSČ.Antonín Zápotocký, who had been prime minister since 1948, succeeded Gottwald as president.
In tribute,Zlín, a city in Moravia, now theCzech Republic, was renamedGottwaldov after him from 1949 to 1989.Zmiiv, a city inKharkiv Oblast,Ukrainian SSR, was namedGotvald after him from 1976 to 1990.
A major square and park inBratislava was namedGottwaldovo námestie after him, later becomingNámestie Slobody(Freedom square) immediately following theVelvet Revolution. The original eponym persists today, the square being referred to by locals asGottko. A bridge in Prague that is now calledNuselský Most was once called Gottwaldův Most, and the abutting metro station now called Vyšehrad was called Gottwaldova.
A Czechoslovak 100Koruna banknote issued on 1 October 1989 as part of the 1985–89 banknote series included a portrait of Gottwald. This note wasso poorly received by Czechoslovaks that it was removed from official circulation on 31 December 1990 and was promptly replaced with the previous banknote issue of the same denomination.[16]
^Skilling, H. Gordon. "Gottwald and the Bolshevization of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1929-1939)."American Slavic and East European Review 20.4 (1961): 641-655.
^Skilling, H. Gordon (1961). "Gottwald and the Bolshevization of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1929-1939)".American Slavic and East European Review.20 (4):641–655.doi:10.2307/3004097.JSTOR3004097.
^Duroselle, Jean-Baptiste (1993).Histoire Diplomatique de 1919 à nos jours. Paris: Dalloz. pt. 3, ch. 2, par. 5, p. 256.
^Applebaum, Anne (2013).Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944–56. London: Penguin.
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