Milada Horáková

Milada Horáková (née Králová, 25 December 1901 – 27 June 1950) was a Czech politician and a member of both the resistance against the Nazis and later an opponent of the Communist regime. She was executed by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia after a show trial. She was the only woman executed in these political trials. She was born and died in Prague.

 Youth and studies 
Milada Horáková was born on 25 December 1901 in Prague. She studied law at Charles University and graduated in 1926. Early in her life, she was active in supporting women’s rights and social justice.

 The First Republic 
After her studies, she married Bohuslav Horák and they had a daughter. Horáková became active in social and political work, including efforts to improve civil rights and equal rights for women.

 World War II 
After Nazi Germany took over Czechoslovakia, Horáková joined the resistance. In 1940, she and her husband were arrested by the Gestapo and she was sent to several prisons and detention sites, including Terezín and other locations in Germany. She was sentenced to eight years in prison but was freed by advancing Allied forces near the end of World War II in 1945.

 Postwar period 
After the war, she returned to Prague. She was reunited with her husband. Horáková became a member of the national parliament and worked for democratic reforms. She also founded a women’s magazine called Vlasta. After the Communist Party took power in 1948, she resigned from parliament in protest but continued to remain in Czechoslovakia instead of fleeing abroad.

 Investigation and trial 
In 1949, Horáková was arrested by the Communist secret police. She was accused of crimes against the state in a show trial that began on 31 May 1950. The trial was arranged in advance, and the defendants were forced to follow a prepared script. Many historians consider the charges to have been fabricated for political reasons. The trial aimed to intimidate opponents of the regime and the public.

 Execution 
Despite appeals for mercy from people around the world, including Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor Roosevelt, Horáková was sentenced to death. She was executed by hanging at Pankrác Prison in Prague on 27 June 1950. Her execution is widely seen as a symbol of political repression during the Communist era.

 Rehabilitation and legacy 
During the Prague Spring reforms of 1968, the court verdicts against Horáková and her co-defendants were annulled, but full rehabilitation waited until after the Velvet Revolution. Her life and death are commemorated in the Czech Republic, and she is remembered as a symbol of courage and resistance to totalitarianism.

 Inspiration 
During her life she was strongly influenced by thoughts of T. G. Masaryk and later even Edvard Beneš.

 References 

Category:1901 births
Category:1950 deaths