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Emil Hácha (July 12, 1872-June 26, 1945) was a Czech lawyer, the third Czechoslovakian
President, taking office in 1938, and the last president of the Protectorate of Bohemia and
Moravia.
Emil Hácha was born on July 12, 1872 in a
town of Trhové Sviny. He graduated from a secondary school in České Budějovice and then applied for the law faculty at the University of Prague. After finishing his studies in 1896 he started working for various local courts in Bohemia. Shortly before the World War I he became an advisor to
the Highest Court in Vienna. During the war he stayed in Vienna where he met Ferdinand
Pantůček.
After the Treaty of Versailles Pantůček became
the Head of the Senate of the Republic of
Czechoslovakia and Hácha became a member of this body. After Pantůček's death in 1925 he was chosen by T. G. Masaryk as his successor. He
became one of the most notable lawyers in Czechoslovakia, a specialist in the British common and international law. He was also a
translator of English literature (most notably the Three Men in a
Boat by Jerome K. Jerome). He also became a member of the
Legislative Council.
After the Treaty of Munich and emigration of president Edvard Beneš he was chosen as his successor on November 30, 1938. He was chosen because of his Catholicism and
conservatism and because of not being involved in any government that led to the partition of the country. During a night meeting
with Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring in Berlin on between 14 and 15 of March, 1939
he was threatened with aerial bombardement of Prague and forced to sign a document accepting of incorporation of Bohemia and Moravia into Germany even though he did not consult the parliament beforehand.
After the occupation of the remnants of Czechoslovakia on March 16 he became the puppet president of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
In November 1939 he was forced to swear an oath to Hitler and Konstantin von Neurath, the newly-chosen Protector of
the rump puppet state. He protested against the German policies and Germanization of former Czechoslovakia. However, to
little effect. He also cooperated with the exiled government of Edvard
Beneš.
His situation changed after Reinhard Heydrich became appointed
as the Protector of Bohemia and
Moravia and replaced von Neurath, considered not harsh enough by Hitler. Hácha lost any influence over the matters in his
country and became a puppet. Many of his collaborators and friends were arrested (including the Prime Minister Alois Elias) and shot or sent to the
concentration camps. Because of the terror campaign started by
Heydrich, Hácha felt that the collaboration with the occupants was the only way he could help his nation.
According to postwar historians, because of Hácha's poor health, he was not responsible for his actions, at least after
February 1943. At least since 1941 his influence on
German policies was close to none. After liberation of Prague, on May 13, 1945, Emil Hácha was arrested and transferred
immediately to a prison hospital where he died on June 26. After his death, he was
buried in an unmarked grave at the Vinohrady cemetery.
He is regarded by many as one of the most tragic characters of all Czechoslovak history. By others he is seen as the most disappointing characters. He collaborated with
Hitler's Nazi regime and became the
state president in 1939, when Czechoslovakia was overtaken by Hitler and transformed
into the protectorate Böhmen und Mähren. Others argue that he tried to save as much of Czechoslovakia's freedom as it was possible.
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