Křesťanskodemokratická strana před Krajským soudem v Ústí nad Labem v 50. letech
The Christian Democratic Party before the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem in the 1950s

Summary/Abstract: The transformation of political parties after February 1948 also affected the Czechoslovak People’s Party. This was a party with a longstanding tradition and hitherto stable leadership. Under the existing conditions, some representatives and former members of the People’s Party began to consider the establishment of a parallel structure, a so-called Christian Democratic Party, which was meant to carry on the tradition of the original People’s Party. The initiator of the establishment of a Christian democracy was most likely JUDr. Bedřich Hostička, who also partially acquainted some regional representatives of the pre-February 1948 People’s Party with his ideas. It is not completed clear from archive materials how his ideas subsequently developed and whether they succeeded in being at least partially fulfilled. I believe that the intention to create a Christian Democratic Party was essentially only attempted by individuals and we can say that a fully organised, structured and functioning Christian Democratic Party was not successfully established. It is also possible to completely reject the claim by State Security (StB) investigators that it concerned an organisation which considered and was fully capable of implementing a political putsch in Czechoslovakia. This was an expedient claim, which was meant to justify action against former People’s Party exponents and to provide grounds for taking persecutory measures against them. The extent of these measures can be demonstrated using the example of dozens of people tried before the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem in connection with the activities of the Christian Democratic Party. This involved thirteen cases in which 40 people were given custodial sentences amounting to a total of 371 ½ years. On the basis of often brutal methods, StB investigators obtained witness testimonies that “uncovered” the structure of the Christian Democratic Party in northwest Bohemia, which naturally did not actually pursue political activity to the extent that was presented.

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