Ludmila Brožová-Polednová

{{Infobox person

| name = Ludmila Brožová-Polednová

| native_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|12|20|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|1|15|1921|12|20|df=yes}}

| death_place = Prague, Czech Republic

| occupation = State prosecutor

}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/news/ludmila-brozova-polednova-a-former-communist-prosecutor-who-assisted-in-the-notorious-show-trial-against-milada-horakova-has-died-at-the-age-of-93|title=Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, a former communist prosecutor who assisted in the notorious show trial against Milada Horáková has died at the age of 93.|last=Lazarová|first=Daniela|date=24 January 2015|website=Radio Prague|publisher=Czech Radio|accessdate=25 January 2015}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.lidovky.cz/ve-veku-93-let-zemrela-ludmila-brozova-polednova-f5k-/lide.aspx?c=A150124_124718_lide_mct|title=Zemřela Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, prokurátorka v procesu s Horákovou|date=24 January 2015|newspaper=Lidové noviny|publisher=Mafra|language=cs|accessdate=24 January 2015}}

Biography

Biedermannová was born in Prague in 1921. From 1948 until 1949, she studied at the Workers' Law School (Czech: Právnická škola pracujících). In summer 1950, Biedermannová participated as a "workers' prosecutor" in a show trial against a {{ill|Proces se skupinou Milady Horákové|cs|lt=group accused of conspiracy against the state}}, which was allegedly led by Milada Horáková,{{cite news|url=http://www.denik.cz/z_domova/ve-veku-93-let-zemrela-prokuratorka-brozova-polednova-20150124.html|title=Ve věku 93 let zemřela prokurátorka Brožová-Polednová|date=24 January 2015|newspaper=Deník|publisher=Vltava Labe Media|access-date=22 December 2024|language=cs}} an opposition politician and former prisoner of Nazi concentration camps.{{cite web|url=http://zpravy.aktualne.cz/ex-prosecutor-on-trial-for-helping-to-stage-one-in-1950/r~i:article:511434|title=Ex-prosecutor on trial for helping to stage one in 1950|last=Lehovcová Suchá|first=Veronika|date=19 October 2007|website=Aktuálně.cz|publisher=Economia|access-date=27 January 2015|language=cs}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.novinky.cz/domaci/149236-ludmila-brozova-polednova-pri-poprave-horakove-mi-bylo-spatne.html|title=Ludmila Brožová-Polednová: Při popravě Horákové mi bylo špatně|last=Vaculík|first=Radim|date=10 September 2008|website=Novinky.cz|publisher=Borgis|access-date=24 January 2015|language=cs}} Záviš Kalandra, {{ill|Jan Buchal|cs}}, and {{ill|Oldřich Pecl|cs}} 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.

In 1952, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague and later worked in Plzeň.{{cn|date=January 2017}} 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. She was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, beginning March 2009 at {{ill|Věznice Plzeň|cs|Plzeň-Bory}}.{{cite web|url=http://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/brozova-polednova-nastoupila-v-87-letech-do-vezeni/r~i:article:632180/|title=Brožová-Polednová nastoupila v 87 letech do vězení|last=Chaloupská|first=Markéta|website=Aktuálně.cz|publisher=Economia|date=19 March 2009|access-date=24 January 2015|language=cs}} At that time, she was the oldest jailed person in the country.{{cite web|url=http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/domaci/110570-brozova-polednova-stravi-vanoce-na-svobode-klaus-ji-udelil-milost/|title=Brožová-Polednová stráví Vánoce na svobodě, Klaus ji udělil milost|website=ČT24|publisher=Czech Television|date=21 December 2010|access-date=24 January 2015}} She was released by an amnesty granted by President Václav Klaus in December 2010, due to her age and health.{{cite web|url=http://zpravy.idnes.cz/klaus-udelil-milost-brozove-polednove-prokuratorce-z-procesu-s-horakovou-1u2-/domaci.aspx?c=A101221_162113_domaci_vel|title=Prokurátorka procesu s Horákovou dostala kvůli věku milost od prezidenta|newspaper=Mladá fronta Dnes|publisher=Mafra|date=21 December 2010|access-date=24 January 2015|language=cs}}

Death

Brožová-Polednová died on 15 January 2015 in Prague at the age of 93. However, news of her death was announced only on 24 January.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-communist-show-trial-prosecutor-dies-aged-93/1172924|url-status=dead|title=Czech Communist show trial prosecutor dies, aged 93|website=České Noviny|agency=Czech News Agency|date=24 January 2015|access-date=24 January 2015|language=cs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128135444/https://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-communist-show-trial-prosecutor-dies-aged-93/1172924|archive-date=28 January 2015}}{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.tyden.cz/rubriky/domaci/zemrela-brozova-polednova-prokuratorka-z-procesu-s-horakovou_331235.html#.VMO10iwYsdU|title=Zemřela prokurátorka Ludmila Brožová-Polednová|magazine=Týden|publisher=Eco Press|date=24 January 2015|access-date=24 January 2015|language=cs}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/domaci/299321-zemrela-ludmila-brozova-polednova-prokuratorka-z-procesu-s-horakovou/|title=Zemřela Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, prokurátorka z procesu s Horákovou|website=ČT24|publisher=Czech Television|date=24 January 2015|access-date=24 January 2015|language=cs}}

Ludmila Brožová-Polednová

Biography

Death

References

Further reading