Petr Zenkl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Prague | |
| In office 6 April 1937 – 24 February 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Karel Baxa |
| Succeeded by | Otakar Klapka |
| In office 27 August 1945 – 1 July 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Václav Vacek |
| Succeeded by | Václav Vacek |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1884-06-13)13 June 1884 |
| Died | 2 November 1975(1975-11-02) (aged 91) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Resting place | Vyšehrad Cemetery |
| Political party | Czechoslovak National Social Party |
| Spouse | Pavla |
| Alma mater | Charles University |
| Occupation | Politician, university professor |
Petr Zenkl (13 June 1884 – 2 November 1975) was a Czech politician, government minister,mayor of Prague, chairman of theCzechoslovak National Social Party (1945–1948), deputy prime minister of Czechoslovakia (1946–1948) and the chairman of exile Council of Free Czechoslovakia (1949–1974).
Petr Zenkl was born as the eighth son of a small businessman, originally atailor, in theSouth Bohemian town ofTábor. All of the children helped their father in his business and strived to earn money. The father was Czech patriot, thus the children joined theSokol movement. Zenkl studied at thegymnasium (grammar school) in Tábor and later graduated from the Philosophy Faculty of theCharles University in Prague and in 1907 gained a doctorate.[1] During his studies in Tábor he met a daughter of his history teacher, 16-year-old Pavla, and married her six years later in 1909.[1]
From 1911 Zenkl was active in local politics in Prague, more precisely inKarlín, which was until 1921 an independent town before its incorporation to Prague. In 1911 he became a member of the Karlín town council, and in 1919 became a mayor of Karlín. He lost his position when Karlín was incorporated into Prague in 1921–1922. As a member of the Prague city council, Zenkl was installed in 1937 to the position of Prague's mayor, replacing his successful predecessor, dr.Karel Baxa.
Shortly after theNazi German occupation of Prague (March 1939) Zenkl was arrested and jailed in thePankrác Prison. From there he was transported to theDachau concentration camp and, after three weeks, to theBuchenwald concentration camp, where he was liberated together with other inmates by the army of U.S. GeneralGeorge S. Patton. Zenkl is mentioned inEdward R Murrow's report of Buchenwald on 11 April 1945, when a man turned to him in a barracks and said "You remember me, I am Peter Zenkl, onetime mayor of Prague". The two had indeed met before, but given such harsh treatment as Zenkl had endured, he was unrecognizable.[2] With American military help, he was able to fly throughFrankfurt am Main andParis toLondon, where he learned that his place as Mayor of Prague had been taken by the communistVáclav Vacek. He was also informed that he had been elected chairman of his Czechoslovak National Social Party by the Revolutionary Committee of the party.
He took over his position as a mayor in August 1945, replacing Vacek, and fulfilled his duties until May 1946, whenelections took place and Václav Vacek was installed to the office again. After the elections, as a chairman of the second strongest party (after theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia) he became the Deputy Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak government in May 1946. In September 1947 Zenkl, together with ministerJan Masaryk and fellow National Socialist minister of justiceProkop Drtina, were victims of communist-orchestrated intimidation, when they received boxes containing explosives.[3] In February 1948 Zenkl resigned, together with other non-communist government ministers, to convince the communist Minister of InteriorVáclav Nosek to cancel unconstitutional measures, which Nosek instituted during his ministry.[4]
After thecommunist coup d'état of 1948 Zenkl was under constant surveillance by thecommunist State Security apparatus. He managed, however, to escape with his wife to the West in August 1948.[1] In subsequent years he became the head of the Czechoslovak political exile movement. In 1949-1974 he was a chairman of the exileCouncil of Free Czechoslovakia, based inWashington, D.C. After thefall of communism in 1989, his remains were transferred from the United States to theVyšehrad Cemetery in Prague.[4] In October 1991 he was awarded,in memoriam, theOrder of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, II class, by PresidentVáclav Havel.
Media related toPetr Zenkl at Wikimedia Commons
Works by or aboutPetr Zenkl atWikisource| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor ofPrague 1937–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor ofPrague 1945–1946 | Succeeded by |
