Czech President, Communist Party Leader. He helped form the Communist Party of Czechosolvakia in 1921, and was its General Secretary from 1922 to 1925. During the 1930s, as a representative of the Communist Red Trade Unions, Zapotocky organized a strike which proved to be the most wide-spread work stoppage on the European continent during the worldwide depression. In April 1939, after the German takeover of Czechosolvakia, he was arrested for trying to illegally cross into Poland. He was first sent to Pankrac and then to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he served as a kapo. After his release in 1945, the Netherlands unsuccessfully tried to have extradited to face charges of participating in the execution of Dutch citizens. Zapotocky became Prime Minister of Czechosolvakia in 1948, succeeding Klement Gottwald, who became President. He succeeded Gottwald as President in 1953 and would serve until his death. He was mostly seen as a figurehead to Communist Party General Secretary Antonin Novotny, who was the actual leader of Czechosolvakia. Although he made promises involving reforms in both the currency system and how collective farms were organized, he was ordered by the Soviets to adhere to Novotny.
Czech President, Communist Party Leader. He helped form the Communist Party of Czechosolvakia in 1921, and was its General Secretary from 1922 to 1925. During the 1930s, as a representative of the Communist Red Trade Unions, Zapotocky organized a strike which proved to be the most wide-spread work stoppage on the European continent during the worldwide depression. In April 1939, after the German takeover of Czechosolvakia, he was arrested for trying to illegally cross into Poland. He was first sent to Pankrac and then to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he served as a kapo. After his release in 1945, the Netherlands unsuccessfully tried to have extradited to face charges of participating in the execution of Dutch citizens. Zapotocky became Prime Minister of Czechosolvakia in 1948, succeeding Klement Gottwald, who became President. He succeeded Gottwald as President in 1953 and would serve until his death. He was mostly seen as a figurehead to Communist Party General Secretary Antonin Novotny, who was the actual leader of Czechosolvakia. Although he made promises involving reforms in both the currency system and how collective farms were organized, he was ordered by the Soviets to adhere to Novotny.
Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye
Advertisement
See more Zapotocky memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
