Milada Horáková

Milada Horáková (née Králová, 25 December 1901 – 27 June 1950) was a Czech politician and a victim of a judicial murder. She was executed by communists on charges of treason. Moreover she was the only woman who was executed within these proceedings. She was born and died in Prague.

Milada Horáková, prison photo (1949).

Youth and studies

She was born as Milada Králová in Prague. She had three siblings. In 1918, she was excluded from grammar school, because she participated at antiwar demonstrations, which was banned. Nevertheless in 1921, she graduated at another grammar school. She was awarded one’s degree in 1926 at Law School at the Charles University. When she met with the senator Františka Plamínková, the founder of Women’s National Council, she joined.

The First Republic

Shortly after her studies she got married with Bohuslav Horák, an agricultural economist. In 1933 she gave birth to a girl called Jana.

She is considered as an important czech feminist. Moreover she participated in creating new Civil Code.

In her life she travelled a lot, for example to England, France and the USSR. She could even speak english, french and german.

World War II

After year 1939, she used to ensure flats and gain secret information. Unfortunately on August 2 1940, her husband and her were arrested by gestapo. Two years she was kept at Charles Square, after Heydrich’s assassination was sent to Terezín. In June 1944 she was sent to Liepzig and Dresden. Prosecutor proposed her death penalty, however it was changed to 8 years of penitentiary. She was discharged by the American army in Aichachu close to Munich in 1945.

Postwar Period

After her exemption she returned to Prague, where she again met her husband, who survived the death march.

February 25 1948 – September 27 1949 at this time she was little by little excluded from all of her public positions. Horáková got into a view-finder as a suitable candidate for an action of STB called „the middle“. It was planned to execute her on September 27, 1949. The attempt of arresting her was not successful because she was not at home.

Investigation and the trial

Maltreating Horáková is proved by her fellow inmates Zdena Mašínová. The proces with Milada Horáková lasted since May 31 until June 8, 1950, and was contrived as a public political process. There was onwards learned screenplay, according to which the defendants were forced to behave.

Judicial Murder

Milada Horáková refused the petition for mercy. Moreover president Gottwald, formally on recommendation of Minister of Justice, signed the death penalty. Her last letter she wrote the day she was executed at 2:30 at night. Her execution was effectuated by hanging her at Pankrác prison yard on June 27, 1950 at 5:35 am.

Inspiration

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