Rudolf Slánský

Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a leading Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

After the split between Josip Broz Tito and Joseph Stalin, the latter instigated a wave of "purges" of the respective Communist Party leaderships, to prevent more splits between the Soviet Union and its Central European "satellite" countries. In Czechoslovakia, Slánský was one of 14 leaders arrested in 1951, tortured into confessing their "crimes", and put on show trial ''en masse'' in November 1952, charged with high treason. After eight days, 11 of the 14 were convicted and sentenced to death. Slánský was executed five days later. Provided by Wikipedia