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Karol Šmidke

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Slovak communist politician (1897–1952)

Karol Šmidke
Speaker of the Slovak National Council
In office
14 September 1945 – 14 July 1950
Serving with Jozef Lettrich
(14 September 1945 – 26 February 1948)
Preceded byJozef Lettrich
Succeeded byFrantišek Kubač
In office
5 September 1944 – 23 October 1944
Serving with Vavro Šrobár
Preceded by
Succeeded by
  • Vavro Šrobár
  • Gustáv Husák
  • Ján Ursíny
Personal details
Born(1897-01-21)21 January 1897
Witkowitz, Austria-Hungary (now Vítkovice, Czech Republic)
Died15 December 1952(1952-12-15) (aged 55)
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Political partyCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia

Karol Šmidke (21 January 1897 – 15 December 1952) was a Slovak communist politician, resistance fighter, and a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.

Šmidke was Co-President of the Presidium of the Slovak National Council (with Vavro Srobar) 5 September - c. 23 October 1944, Co-Speaker of the Slovak National Council (with Jozef Lettrich) 14 September 1945 - 26 February 1948, Acting Speaker from 26 February to 12 March 1948 and Speaker 12 March 1948 - 14 July 1950. He was also the first President of the Board of Commissioners from 18 September 1945 until 14 August 1946, when he was succeeded by Gustáv Husák.

In 1950 he lost his position in the party and was put under investigation, alongside Gustáv Husák, Laco Novomeský, and Vladimír Clementis, under accusations of being a "bourgeois nationalist". He would die under unclear circumstances in 1952 before he was to be put on trial. He would be posthumously rehabilitated in 1967.

References

  1. Rychlík, Jan: Czechs and Slovaks in the 20th Century . Prague: Vyšehrad, 2012.
  2. "Karol Šmidke a Štefan Bašťovanský - ti, kteří nepřežili Slánského, Portréty (11.05.2008 22:10), Český rozhlas".
  3. Turlejska, Maria (1972). Zapis pierwszej dekady 1945-1954 [Record of the first decade 1945-1954] (in Polish). Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza. p. 172. 21 maja 1950 r. powstało Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego z Ladislavem Koprivą na czele. Rozpoczęła się ofensywa "przeciw burżuazyjnym nacjonalistom", których szukano przede wszystkim wsrod komunistów słowackich. Jednym z nich był Vlado Clementis minister spraw zagranicznych, odwołany w 1950 r. ze stanowiska. Wkrótce potem padły nazwiska innych działaczy słowackich – Šmidkego, Husáka, Novomeskiego, przywódców komunistycznego podziemia w Słowacji i współorganizatorów powstania w 1944 r. [On May 21, 1950, the Ministry of Public Security was established, headed by Ladislav Kopriva. An "offensive against bourgeois nationalists", who were sought primarily among Slovak communists, began. One of them was Vladimír Clementis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, dismissed from his position in 1950. Shortly thereafter, the names of other Slovak activists were mentioned – Šmidke, Husák, Novomeský, leaders of the communist underground in Slovakia and co-organizers of the 1944 uprising.]
  4. "Bola som päťročná nepriateľka štátu. Kvôli dedkovi" [I was an enemy of the state for four years, because of my grandfather]. HN. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
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