23. 10. 201310:46

Member of the anti-communist resistance and opposition recognised by the Ethics Commission - Helena Nováková

The Ethics Commission awarded the Member Certificate of the Anti-Communist Resistance and Opposition of Helena Nováková, maiden name Capoušková, born 3rd June 1928, deceased 3rd January 20012, to her son Mr. Čestmír Novák, as Helena Nováková actively participated in the activities of the resistance group “Dr. Edvard Beneš“, which fulfills the characteristics of the form of anti-communist resistance and opposition according to § 3, par. 3 together with §3 par. 3 of the Act No. 262/2011 Coll.

Helena Nováková, born 3rd June 1928,was arrested in July 1950, accused of high treason and found guilty in the ruling of the State Court in Prague of 19th July 1950, File No. OR I/V 62/50-17 according to § 1 par. 1 c) and par 2 of the Act No. 231/48 Coll., and sentenced to 20 years in a high security prison, financial penalty of 10 000 CZK, confiscation of whole property and revocation of civil rights for 10 years. The Supreme Court in Prague in its decision of 23rd May 1951, File No. To V 52/51 partially obliged the appeal of Helena Nováková/Capoušková and the decision of the State Court in Prague was cancelled in the statement of guilt of high treason, which she should have committed by hoarding weapons and ammunition for treasonous purposes and she was acquitted. As a result the disputed ruling was cancelled in the main statement of sentence as well and according to § 1 par. 1 of the Act 231/48 Coll., she was sentenced to 14 years in prison and according to § 47 of this Act a penalty of 20 000 CZK was imposed on her. Based on the presidential amnesty her sentence was reduced to 7 years. She served her sentence in prisons in Hradec Králové and Pardubice.

Helena Nováková was tried in the „Záleský and others” lawsuit, which was related to the “Emil Weiland, Jaroslav Kolín and others” lawsuit. Both lawsuits followed up the trial of “Dr. Milada Horáková and others“. During this trial 31 persons were convicted, many of them sentenced too harsh punishments. The activities of this group should have been based (according to the ruling and investigation files) mainly in the attempt to destroy and disrupt the people’s democratic establishment, republic’s social and economic systems guaranteed by the Constitution and included “particularly espionage, hoarding of weapons, hiding enemies of the people’s democratic establishment and alleged terrorist activities” (planning of attacks on communist representatives, functionaries and planning and execution of sabotages).

The StB and the communist justice constructed a connection between the so-called illegal central, which should have been established by Dr. Milada Horáková based on the instigation by Petr Zenkl and which should have constructed a network of the so-called regional confidantes, who should have created intelligence and disruption organizations in the regions. In the Liberec region these were allegedly Emil Kolín, a former functionary of the Czechoslovak People’s Party and Emil Weiland, a Deputy for the former Czechoslovak National-Socialist Party, who should have been connected to Dr. Horáková. These persons should have then recruit others for illegal activities and unify smaller already existing illegal groups, whose existence they suspected. These should have been the organization led by Ivo Baršík and later Jaroslav Stadtherr and the organization led by Bedřich Judytka.

The group tried in the “Záleský and others” lawsuit belonged to the resistance organization led by Bedřich Judytka named “Dr. Edvard Beneš“. Apart from direct members lead by Bedřich Judytka there were two subgroups, one led by František Pálek and the other by Petr Kouba.

The files show that Helena Nováková was a member of the subgroup led by František Pálek, which consisted of several employees of Velveta Varnsdorf, a factory in the Dolní Podluží municipality, namely by František Pálek, Anna Mašková and Jaroslav Rimkevič.

The Ethics Commission considers proven that Helena Nováková knew about the existence of the anti-state group and that in 1949 she provided help to it, namely to František Pálek and Jaroslav Rimkevič, when they were searching for old war bunkers in the forest near Jedlová, i.e. she participated in their search knowing that this should become a hideout for the members of the resistance group in the event that they would be discovered.

The actions of Helena Nováková can be without any doubt judged as active and obviously anti-communist within the resistance group led by Bedřich Judytka, known as “Dr. Edvard Beneš”, namely within the subgroup led by František Pálek. The Ethics Commission is of the opinion that with these actions Helena Nováková fulfilled the form of the anti-communist resistance and opposition stipulated in §3 par. 1 in connection to § 2 b) of the Act No. 262/2011 Coll., as it constituted active participation in an organization or group, whose members fought against the communist regime by methods listed in this provision, i.e. namely in the form of an armed or other comparable fight against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, sabotages or comparable brave deeds performed with the aim to support armed operations against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia with the goal to remove, significantly weaken or disrupt or otherwise harm the communist total power in Czechoslovakia and renew freedom and democracy, whereas by performing this activity Helena Nováková actively participated in the operation of the illegal resistance group “Dr. Edvard Beneš”, i.e. actively and knowingly helped a group, whose members fought against the communist regime by methods specified in this provision.

For completeness the Ethics Commission states that it is aware of the fact that part of the activities of the armed resistance group “Dr. Edvard Beneš” created around Bedřich Judytka, Bohuslav Houfek and Josef Záleský, was with high probability provoked by the StB; however this does not weigh against those members of the resistance group, who actively participated in the fight against communism, as it cannot have any influence on subjective efforts and attitudes of individual group members, who acted in good faith, that they are fighting the communist establishment, as was the case of Bedřich Judytka, František Pálek and also Helena Nováková, regardless of the fact that it is possible to doubt the correctness and reasoning of legal qualification of the actions of Helena Nováková by the court at that time (from the point of view of the then establishment) as high treason and the appropriateness of the related prison sentence, which for Helena Nováková was 20 years, then reduced to 14 and she actually served 7 (which was caused by the obvious purpose of the whole trial, i.e. the effort to deal with both imaginary and real enemies of the people’s democratic establishment and the effort to scare the public and deter other persons from their intent to put up resistance or opposition against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia or from helping such persons).

Helena Nováková/Capoušková applied for the Member Certificate of the Anti-Communist Resistance and Opposition in December 2011; however she died in January 2012. Her son Čestmír Novák applied for the Member Certificate of the Anti-Communist Resistance and Opposition again in April 2012.