Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Komunistická Strana Československa
Abbreviation	CPCz
General Secretary	Klement Gottwald
Founder	Václav Šturc
Founded	16 May 1921
Succeeded by	Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia Party of the Democratic Left
Headquarters	Prague
Newspaper	Rudé Právo
Youth wing	Young Communist League of Czechoslovakia
Political orientation	Communism (until 1956) Marxism–Leninism (until 1956) Revisionism (after 1968) Socialism with a Human Face (1968)
Political position	Far-left

The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPCz) was a communist and for a time a Marxist–Leninist party that existed between the years 1921 and 1992. After the 1948 Revolution it became the vanguard party of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.

History

Prior to the revolution

The party was founded in 1921 with Václav Šturc becoming the first chairman of the party and Bohumír Šmeral becoming the vice-chairman of the party. When Klement Gottwald became the Chairman in 1929 they would both be purged alongside others and would create Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Opposition) which was heavily aligned with the Bukharinite Right Opposition. At first, Gottwald was a revisionist but he would later change position which led to the above mentioned purge. On October 20, 1938 the party would be banned. but it continued as an underground organization. The CPCz was also at this time a member of the National Front against Fascism. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War the party became part of the coalition government until 1948

The revolution

In 1948 the party would officially start revolution and lead it as the vanguard which then led to establishment of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

Slánský Trial

Later on, Rudolf Slánský would be put on a trial for Zionism. He was executed alongside 10 other party members.