Klement Gottwald

This article is about the historical dictator. For his minor namesake in The Hot War: Bombs Away, see Klement Gottwald (Fictional Character)

Klement Gottwald Historical Figure Nationality: Czechoslovakia (born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire) Year of Birth: 1896 Year of Death: 1953 Cause of Death: Heart disease Religion: None (atheist), formerly Catholicism Occupation: Cabinet maker, Publisher Spouse: Marta Gottwaldová (1899–1953) Military Branch: Austro-Hungarian Army (World War I), Czechoslovak Army (1918-1920) Political Party: Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Political Office(s): Legislator, President and Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia Fictional Appearances: The Hot War POD: November, 1950 Appearance(s): Fallout Type of Appearance: Contemporary reference Political Office(s): President of Czechoslovakia

Klement Gottwald (23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was the longtime leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). He spent World War II exiled in the Soviet Union, was Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1946 to 1948 in a nominally democratic coalition government and President from 1948 to his death. A willing puppet of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Gottwald came to power through a coup in February 1948, using the implicit threat of civil war to force the ill President Edvard Beneš to cede power to the communists and ultimately resign. At Stalin's direction, Gottwald introduced purges (including a 1951–2 show trial with his second-in-command Rudolf Slánský) and political prison camps, notably in uranium mines.

Gottwald remained devoted to Stalin until the end. After attending Stalin's funeral on 9 March 1953, his arterial aneurysm burst (he had contracted syphilis in his youth and was a heavy drinker; doctors advised against travelling by plane as the pressure change was dangerous), and he died on 14 March.

Klement Gottwald in The Hot War

Klement Gottwald was the Soviet-backed leader of Czechoslovakia during World War III. It was understood, however, that Gottwald was beholden to Stalin, as Czechoslovakia still hadn't gotten used to communist rule.

References

Political offices (OTL)
Preceded by Zdeněk Fierlinger	Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia 2 July 1946 – 14 June 1948	Succeeded by Antonín Zápotocký
Preceded by Edvard Beneš	President of Czechoslovakia 14 June 1948 – 14 March 1953
Party political offices (OTL)
Preceded by Bohumil Jílek	General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia 1927 – 1945	Succeeded by Rudolf Slánský
Preceded by None	Chairman of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia April 1945 – 14 March 1953	Succeeded by Antonín Novotný as First Secretary