New book chronicles the fates of people executed for political reasons in Communist Czechoslovakia
A new book titled “Executed for Political Reasons in Communist Czechoslovakia” brings to light the stories of nearly three hundred people executed between 1948 and 1989. The richly documented publication includes hundreds of period records and photographs, not only of the executed but also of their executioners, some of which had never before been published.
The issue of political executions during the Communist era has long attracted the attention of both experts and the general public. Until now, researchers have typically focused on selected cases, often linked to the most notorious political trials.
Now, a new collective monograph offers a comprehensive overview of all known cases of people executed for political reasons. It does not shy away from controversial examples in cases that blur or even cross the line between political and criminal offenses. Beyond the individual human stories, the book also outlines the current state of research and situates these executions within the broader context of political repression.
The publication is divided into two main sections. The first three volumes include an introductory study on investigative methods used by Communist security forces, the workings of the system of “class justice,” and the fate of the remains of the executed.
The book contains around 2,500 archival documents and photographs, many previously unpublished, sourced from both public archives and private collections.
Historian Petr Mallota and roughly thirty collaborators spent fifteen years working on the project.
“The book incorporates biographical studies of 232 individuals whose executions were clearly politically motivated among them Milada Horáková and Heliodor Píka. By contrast, it examines 34 highly controversial cases involving individuals whose crimes were predominantly criminal or even war-related, yet whose trials were deliberately politicized by the regime.”
The research drew on extensive archival work, including materials from the National Archives, military records, and security service files, as well as information provided by the relatives of the executed.
One of those relatives is Zdena Kovářová, whose father, Karel Triner, worked with army captain Karel Šabela, an officer of the 21st Tank Brigade in Žatec, who plotted an anti-Communist coup. Triner was executed by the regime in 1949.
“Of course I cried. It brought back so many memories. It was all so sad.”
More than 30 years after the fall of Communism it also helps to full in a lot of blank spots.
The book Executed for Political Reasons in Communist Czechoslovakia was published by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in cooperation with Academia Publishing House.
