Josef Frank (politician)
Czech politician and union member (1909–1952)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josef Frank (25 February 1909, Prostějov – 3 December 1952, Prague) was a Czech communist politician.
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Born25 February 1909
Died3 December 1952 (aged 43)
Pankrác Prison, Prague, Czechoslovak Republic
Causeof death
Judicial murderYearsactive1926–1952
Josef Frank | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Frank from the MNB collection held at the Security Services Archive | |
| Born | 25 February 1909 |
| Died | 3 December 1952 (aged 43) Pankrác Prison, Prague, Czechoslovak Republic |
Cause of death | Judicial murder |
| Years active | 1926–1952 |
| Era | 20th century |
| Known for | Defendant in the Slánský trial |
Political party | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
| Movement | Communism |
Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
| Awards | Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic |
Biography
Between 1939 and 1945 he was imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp.[1]
In 1952 he was expelled from the party. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to death by hanging in the Slánský trial, a show trial orchestrated from Moscow.[2] In 1968 he was made a Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in memoriam.[3]
Frank is the central character of Howard Brenton's 1976 play Weapons of Happiness, in which he is imagined not dead, but rather living in exile.[4]
