Klement Gottwald: Difference between revisions

After the [https://www.britannica.com/event/Munich-Agreement Munich Agreement] of October 1938, Gottwald went to [https://www.britannica.com/place/Moscow Moscow], where he later made several broadcasts to the Czechoslovak underground movement. In 1945 he became deputy premier in a provisional government appointed by President [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edvard-Benes Eduard Beneš] with the approval of Moscow. In March 1946 he became chairman of the KSČ, and on July 3 he became the nation’s premier. On June 14, 1948, after Beneš’s resignation under threat and pressure, Gottwald was inaugurated as president of the republic. Gottwald quickly consolidated his position. Czechoslovakia was compelled to adopt a Soviet and Stalinist model of government; the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia substituted itself for the state. Political purges began in 1950, resulting in the judicial executions of about 180 party officials, including the party’s first secretary, Gottwald’s rival [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudolf-Slansky Rudolf Slánský]. Gottwald caught a chill at Joseph Stalin's funeral(March9,1953) and succumbed to pneumonia five years later.