Ludmila Brožová-Polednová

Ludmila Brožová-Polednová (born Biedermannová, 20 December 1921 – 15 January 2015) was a Czech state prosecutor (public procurator) sentenced in the 2000s for her participation in the show trial and judicial murder of Milada Horáková and others in 1950.[1] She was the only person sentenced in association with the political purges and repressions conducted by the ruling Communist Party in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s.[2]

Biography

Ludmila Biedermannová was born in Prague in 1921. From 1948 to 1949, she studied at the Workers' Law School (Czech: Právnická škola pracujících). In summer 1950, she participated as a "workers' prosecutor" in a show trial against a group accused of conspiracy against the state, which was allegedly led by Milada Horáková,[3] an opposition politician and former prisoner of Nazi concentration camps.[4] The trial resulted in four death sentences and four life sentences. Brožová-Polednová, a colleague of Josef Urválek and others, actively participated in the trial and was present during the execution itself.[5] Záviš Kalandra, Jan Buchal and Oldřich Pecl were the other victims of the trial. The trial was later called "one of the most atrocious events in the nation's history" by the Czech Television.[6]

In the 1950s, she changed her name to Brožová. In 1952, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague and later worked in Plzeň.

Brožová-Polednová was charged with murder conspiracy in 2007, after the fall of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, as the only living participant of the trial.[6] She was sentenced to 6 years in prison, and in March 2009, she was sent to prison at Plzeň-Bory.[7] At that time, she was the oldest jailed person in the country.[6] She was released by amnesty granted by President Václav Klaus in December 2010, due to her age and health condition.[8]

In 2012, Brožová-Polednová was under police scrutiny in association with the Číhošť miracle, a case from the 1950s aimed at discrediting the Catholic Church.[9]

She died on 15 January 2015 in Prague; however, news of her death was announced only on 24 January, allegedly to prevent a meeting of radical Communists during her funeral.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ↑ Lazarová, Daniela (24 January 2015). "Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, a former communist prosecutor who assisted in the notorious show trial against Milada Horáková has died at the age of 93.". Czech Radio. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Zemřela Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, prokurátorka v procesu s Horákovou". Lidové noviny (in Czech). lidovky.cz. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ve věku 93 let zemřela prokurátorka Brožová-Polednová". Deník (in Czech). denik.cz. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Lehovcová Suchá, Veronika (19 October 2007). "Ex-prosecutor on trial for helping to stage one in 1950". aktuálně.cz. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Vaculík, Radim (10 September 2008). "Ludmila Brožová-Polednová: Při popravě Horákové mi bylo špatně" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Brožová-Polednová stráví Vánoce na svobodě, Klaus ji udělil milost" (in Czech). Czech Television. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Chaloupská, Markéta (19 March 2009). "Brožová-Polednová nastoupila v 87 letech do vězení" (in Czech). aktuálně.cz. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Prokurátorka procesu s Horákovou dostala kvůli věku milost od prezidenta". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). idnes. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  9. ↑ Johnstone, Chris (2 May 2012). "Communist prosecutor being probed for role in church clampdown". Lidové noviny (in Czech). Česká pozice. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Czech Communist show trial prosecutor dies, aged 93". Czech News Agency (ČTK). 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Zemřela prokurátorka Ludmila Brožová-Polednová" (in Czech). Týden. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Zemřela Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, prokurátorka z procesu s Horákovou" (in Czech). Czech Television. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.

Further reading