Ludmila Brožová-Polednová

Ludmila Brožová-Polednová (born Ludmila Biedermannová; 20 December 1921 – 15 January 2015) was a Czech state prosecutor (public procurator) sentenced at age 86 in September 2008 to six years' imprisonment for her participation in the show trials of Milada Horáková and others in 1950, which led to at least four executions.^[1]

Brožová-Polednová was the only person sentenced in association with the political purges and repressions conducted by the ruling Communist Party in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s.^[2]

Biography

Ludmila Biedermannová was born in Prague in 1921. From 1948–49, she studied at the Workers' Law School (Czech: Právnická škola pracujících). In summer 1950, she participated as a "workers' prosecutor" in a show trial against a group accused of conspiracy against the state, which was allegedly led by Milada Horáková,^[3] an opposition politician and former prisoner of Nazi concentration camps.^[4]

The trial resulted in four death sentences and four life sentences. Brožová-Polednová, a colleague of Josef Urválek and others, actively participated in the trial and was present during the execution itself.^[5] Záviš Kalandra, Jan Buchal and Oldřich Pecl were the other victims of the trial. The trial was later called "one of the most atrocious events in the nation's history" by Czech Television.^[6]

In 1952, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague and later worked in Plzeň.^{[citation needed]} As the sole surviving participant of the trial, Brožová-Polednová was charged and tried in 2008 after the fall of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.^[6] She was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, beginning March 2009 at Plzeň-Bory.^[7] At that time, she was the oldest jailed person in the country.^[6] She was released by an amnesty granted by President Václav Klaus in December 2010, due to her age and health.^[8]

Death

Brožová-Polednová died on 15 January 2015 in Prague, aged 93. However, news of her death was announced only on 24 January.^[9][10][11]

References

1. Lazarová, Daniela (24 January 2015). "Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, a former communist prosecutor who assisted in the notorious show trial against Milada Horáková has died at the age of 93". Czech Radio. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
2. "Zemřela Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, prokurátorka v procesu s Horákovou". Lidové noviny (in Czech). lidovky.cz. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
3. "Ve věku 93 let zemřela prokurátorka Brožová-Polednová". Deník (in Czech). denik.cz. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
4. Lehovcová Suchá, Veronika (19 October 2007). "Ex-prosecutor on trial for helping to stage one in 1950". aktuálně.cz. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
5. Vaculík, Radim (10 September 2008). "Ludmila Brožová-Polednová: Při popravě Horákové mi bylo špatně" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
6. "Brožová-Polednová stráví Vánoce na svobodě, Klaus ji udělil milost" (in Czech). Czech Television. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
7. Chaloupská, Markéta (19 March 2009). "Brožová-Polednová nastoupila v 87 letech do vězení" (in Czech). aktuálně.cz. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
8. "Prokurátorka procesu s Horákovou dostala kvůli věku milost od prezidenta". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). idnes. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
9. "Czech Communist show trial prosecutor dies, aged 93". Czech News Agency (ČTK). 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
10. "Zemřela prokurátorka Ludmila Brožová-Polednová" (in Czech). Týden. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
11. "Zemřela Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, prokurátorka z procesu s Horákovou" (in Czech). Czech Television. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.

Further reading

• Zídek, Petr (2010). Příběh herečky -- Dělnická prokurátorka Ludmila Brožová a její svět (in Czech). Dokořán. ISBN 9788073632595.