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K 231. Association of Former Political Prisoners in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968
Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość, Vol. 35 No 1 (2020), pages: 114-140
Publication date: 2020-06-30
https://doi.org/10.48261/pis203506
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Résumé
The Prague Spring of 1968 represents the most extensive attempt at reform Communism. Delayed destalinisation brought various changes, and socialism was to be given a “human face.” At the end of March 1968, K 231 was established, associating political prisoners convicted under Section 231 for “subverting the republic,” and over three thousand of them from all over Czechoslovakia gathered in Žofín, Prague. They were called “former people” or “hostile persons” by the ruling Communist regime. Political prisoners stated that they did not want to be a political party. They actively built their organisation – they established local, district, regional and provincial branches. They were headquartered on Karlovo náměstí (Charles Square) in Prague, eight commissions were active, and their mission was to achieve legal, civic and social rehabilitation. Around 80,000 members subscribed to the “reform process,” demanded the removal of all discriminatory measures and emphasised that they were not seeking revenge, but justice. Political prisoners from Slovakia became involved in the establishment of K 231, but soon decided to go their own way and set up their own organisation. The Slovak Organisation for the Defending of Human Rights, a sister organisation of K 231, was founded on 7 April 1968 in Bratislava. Although former Czech and Slovak political prisoners acted amicably, they became as undesirable for Dubček’s reform Communists as the Klub angažovaných nestraníků (Club of Involved Independents) or the preparatory committee of the Social Democratic Party. Throughout the Prague Spring, they tried to legalise their activities, but in vain. Instead, they remained under observation by the secret police, and under pressure from Moscow, hostility and media attacks against them escalated. With the occupation of 21 August 1968, when all hopes were shattered, their five-month tenure ended. On 5 September 1968, the Ministry of the Interior refused to register K 231, and the association ceased all operations. Numerous representatives went into exile; those who remained in their homeland became “people of interest” to the State Security, were monitored, called for questioning, and their “counter-revolutionary efforts” were denigrated. In fact, their work showed the possibilities and limits of the Prague Spring. Former political prisoners were still strong enough and their association had great potential, not only moral, but also intellectual and educational. Strong personalities, strong stories – the first organisation of political prisoners in Czechoslovakia.
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