artur london

Artur London, born February 1, 1915, Ostrava, Moravia, Austria-Hungary - died November 8, 1986 in Paris, France, was a Czech Communist politician and co-defendant in the Prague Trials. In 1937, London went to fight in the Spanish Civil War as part of the International Brigade. He moved to France after the defeat of the Republicans and, during World War II, was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. After the war he became a leading figure in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia becoming deputy minister of foreign affairs in 1948. In 1951 he was arrested and became a co-defendant in the Prague Trials alongside Rudolf Slnsk. London was accused of being a Zionist, Trotskyite and Titoite and sentenced to life in prison. He was released in 1955 and "rehabilitated." In 1963 he moved to France where he wrote L'Aveu (the Confession) about his ordeal in the Prague Trials. The book was made into a film directed by Costa-Gavras and starring Yves Montand. London, Artur

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